Journal 6
By: Carly Cornish
Surveillance:
What exactly is surveillance? How does it affect our lives?
The definition of surveillance is “close observation, especially of a suspected spy or criminal.” Surveillance is something that the American people have grown incredibly used to, this concept of the government following our every move. Memes and jokes have been made around this idea, it no longer scares the younger generations of Millenials and Gen-zs.
Not only are companies using the personal information they get from us to personalize products and ads to get us to buy them, but they’re also using the information to increase their power. The government has gotten involved in this by using the events of 9-11, to allow them to try and stop terrorism from entering the country. Their logic is to sacrifice personal freedom and privacy in order to keep the country and the American people safe. They used this to create the surveillance program “PRISM” which is used by the NSA, FBI, and CIA, to search through Americans’ international emails, internet calls and chats without getting a warrant from a judge. (ACLU). PRISM gets its information from many companies including the following; Microsoft, Google, Facebook, PalTalk, YouTube, Skype, AOL, and Apple (ACLU). These are just some of the companies providing information on those who use them, more and more companies are getting involved and more countries are buying into the surveillance economy. It’s estimated that the global surveillance economy for video equipment will reach 18.5 billion dollars in 2018. (ACLU). Due to the fact that PRISM exists, many would think that the United States has the largest economy for video surveillance, however, China had the largest market for it in 2017(Statista). The events of Hong Kong, are even more evidence of the importance of this topic.
Now the government isn’t the only one using surveillance technology. Regular Americans are entering this surveillance economy, technologies such as the Ring doorbell and other smart home security systems are being purchased. In 2015, the number of installed monitored alarm systems in the U.S. reached 31 million. However, the number of smart home security systems installed two years later reached 400 million (Statista). This shows how the market for security and surveillance has increased and will continue to do so dramatically. These numbers may not seem to bad, however, this means that there are more security systems in the U.S. than there are people since the current population of the U.S. reached 327.2 million in 2018. About 41% of Americans, ranging from the age of 18 to 29 years old, believe that the government should have access to their communications in order to prevent crimes (Statista). This also points to a change in American culture and how it sees the government.
There are many problems with these statistics, it sheds light on the problems we face. The government and the companies providing the information to the government are watching our every move and using ourselves and our temptations to control us. In order to make this less of a hazard and invasion of privacy, specific info could be protected from surveillance. Instead of building an avatar to use the subliminal message to control our ideas, a simple behavioral test could be used to personalize ads. Also, a problem with ads is many people of this day and age use ad blockers making this behavioral analysis, obsolete. If the companies using this information, had better intentions perhaps it could be used to connect people and sells products that will increase the value and happiness in their life. If the companies are already getting our information it should be used for good, like mental illness, perhaps sending links to mental health professionals. The betterment of social media can follow the lines of the app I set up as in Project 1 with the DynamicU app. Asking the customer what they need, and doing the best they can to fulfill those needs, in order to still make a profit. For example, sending ads for products that actually work, and will better the lives of the user/customer.
The surveillance we are experiencing is turning more and more towards control, not only is the government involved in some ways but it also not doing anything to stop the invasion of privacy by others outside of its jurisdiction. This may not seem like a large problem since so many of those who are Millennials or gen z’s don’t see it as one, however, it is.
Sources:
–https://www.statista.com/topics/2646/security-and-surveillance-technology/
–https://memoori.com/major-trends-video-surveillance-market-2018-2023/
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