Big Brother Is Watching You Essay

Today, Canadian’s lives today are as translucent as ever. Most organizations especially the government constantly watches each and every one of our moves. By definition, surveillance is any systematic focus on any information in order to influence, manage, entitle, or control those whose information is collected. (Bennet et Al, 6). From driving to the shopping mall to withdrawing money from the ATM machine, Canadians are being watched constantly. With Canada’s commitment to advance technology and infrastructure in the 1960s, government surveillance is much easier and much more prevalent than it was hundreds of years ago. Even as early as 1940s, the Dominion Bureau of Statistics used punch cards and machines to determine who is available

Did you know that 58% of employers have fired workers for Internet and email misuse? And 48% justify employee video monitoring as an effort to “counter theft and violence?” According to the “2007 Electronic Monitoring & Surveillance Survey” of which 304 U.S. companies participated in, computer-monitoring results have led to the highest cause of employee termination. These companies used several tactics to eavesdrop on employees while claiming to be managing productivity or for security purposes. Some argue that surveillance is absolutely necessary to help protect and grow a business; others argue that employee and customer rights come first. However, companies that use such tactics often violate the privacy of individuals, exploit their private information and even punish those that do not conform to their standards.

Privacy and safety of citizens is common in today's society, as well as the government looking over their shoulder at all times. As an example, George Orwell wrote a book called, "1984" which in it gave an outlook of society being taken over by a party. Government surveillance is different from protecting and bringing safety to the citizens, it violates their freedom, privacy, and human rights.

“Did you choose Luther because of Luther College?” seems to be a reoccurring question when introducing my youngest brother to an acquaintance or stranger. Without even knowing his name, most fall in love with Luther’s sweet smile and giddy personality. I came to love him before he even entered the world, let alone the first time I held him in his hospital room. Although many can find little brothers as being nuisances, having the title of “Big Sister” to my younger brothers Ethan and Luther is a very important title for me to hold: my teaching can help shape their lives while their love changes my life in ways I could have never imagined.

Everyday technology is advancing and has become part of people’s everyday life, from phones, cars, computers, and even the light switches in a room. With all this technology, it would be easy to use it for other things then what they were intended for. For example what if someone wanted to control what another person could do such as sleeping or going places. It would not not be that hard to try and control another human being, or even worse being watched every single moment of everyday for the rest of their life. That idea is not as farfetched as it may seem now with even more phones, computers, televisions and cameras in general. Technology is taking humanity nearer and nearer to world of Big Brother and the worse part is that if they are not careful, Big Brother could raise without any citizen ever knowing.

Surveillance is not a new thing. In fact, espionage, tracking, and sleuthing were part of society ever since 5000 B.C. But in the rise of the modern era, the idea of surveillance in the public eye serves as a controversial topic of discussion. People everywhere complain about the existence of security cameras, government tracking, and the right to privacy. Such problems, however, are not due to the sudden discovery of surveillance, but the modern abuse of it. Seeing the disastrous effects of over surveillance from George Orwell’s 1984, the public rightfully fears societal deterioration through modern surveillance abuse portrayed in Matthew Hutson’s “Even Bugs Will Be Bugged” and the effects of such in Jennifer Golbeck’s “All Eyes On You”. The abuse of surveillance induces the fear of discovery through the invasion of privacy, and ensures the omnipresence of one’s past that haunt future endeavors, to ultimately obstruct human development and the progress of society overall.

As the late Frank Herbert once said, “Once, men turned their thinking over to machines in the hope that this would set them free. But that only permitted other men with machines to enslave them.” Federal electronic wiretapping and supervision dates to the Wiretap Act of 1968, and has only increased in the following decades. Organizations such as the National Security Agency have been empowered by FISA (United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Courts) to bypass the authority of the Supreme Court in determining constitutional validity on searches. Government Surveillance is unjustified because it infringes upon personal freedoms, does not guarantee safety, and is not a vital necessity.

In America our number one concept is based on freedom of the people, and by having a strong government, we can't exercise that ideal nearly as much, we need to be more based on State Government.

Government has been a necessity for man for as long as recorded history, and this is because mankind cannot effectively regulate themselves. In the words of James Madison and Alexander Hamilton, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary” (51). That is not the case in today 's society, nor will it ever be under those circumstances. Since government is vital to the success of the country as a whole, what way, size, or fashion would be the most efficient and beneficial to the people? The United States government is large in size, influence, and power. The size of the government has become too large and should be restricted to a smaller government because it is costly, often inefficient, too powerful, and usurping states rights.

In the book 1984,by George Orwell, The main character Winston has a love affair with a girl named Julia.Their leader Big Brother controls all and knows all. They later get caught by the thought police and put through extreme conditions to reduce them to their core. Big Brother uses violence, manipulation, and propaganda to brainwash and control the perceptions of “his” citizens therefore , indicating it is possible to change people’s reality.

Privacy threats are currently the biggest threat to National Security today. The threats are not only concerning to the government, however. An alarming 92% of Americans are concerned that the power grid may be vulnerable to a cyber-attack (Denholm). Although this is a more recent development to the cyber threats we have experienced, this is not the first time that privacy threats have stepped into the limelight as people are forced to watch their every online move.

Technological Surveillance In an age where instant communication and technology provide easy and ready access to information, the society and the individual is caught between two very controversial principles- open information and privacy. The perceptions and expectations of privacy are rapidly changing as a result of current developments in surveillance technologies. The question is are these new surveillance technologies endangering the values and morals of our democratic society, the society we have worked for many centuries to achieve?

Today, individuals are sacrificing privacy in order to feel safe. These sacrifices have made a significant impact on the current meaning of privacy, but may have greater consequences in the future. According to Debbie Kasper in her journal, “The Evolution (Or Devolution) of Privacy,” privacy is a struggling dilemma in America. Kasper asks, “If it is gone, when did it disappear, and why?”(Kasper 69). Our past generation has experienced the baby boom, and the world today is witnessing a technological boom. Technology is growing at an exponential rate, thus making information easier to access and share than ever before. The rapid diminishing of privacy is leaving Americans desperate for change.

Is your privacy getting invaded by your parent? Technology gets better each and everyday, but how will it affect you? It has put a big effect on teens so their parents can know what is going on while their teens aren’t home. Parents have worked around problems to figure out many things such as where they are, who they called, and how fast they are driving. Depending if a teen is responsible or not tells how much freedom the teen can have. Privacy is important but parents also need to consider the teens perspective. In the article “Parental Monitoring Or An Invasion of Privacy”Robert Foltz discusses how parents are worried about everything their children are doing at all times. In the article “How Private Is Your Private Life?” the author Andrea Rock talks about her privacy is always close to being invaded. Privacy is not always taken the right way, teens can be tracked, what the teens think about their privacy may cause problems, and the actions they make results in what they are able to do.

Our society would not survive in the 21st century without the help of electronic surveillance. Safety is one of the main purposes of electronic surveillance. Safety is the state of being secure and free from danger of any sort. Today, many would rather give up their privacy for safety (Smithsimon). In fact, surveillance gadgets such as cameras, radio tracking chips and house alarms are used in many places to ensure safety. For instance, a parent can easily place a hidden camera in a stuffed animal in order to see how the babysitter handles his or her child (Public Places Have Eyes). Cameras are also used to ensure safety on school premises. According to the GCC College Safety website, "the college has an extensive system of surveillance