Analysis Of That's My Tracker By George Orwell
Today’s society is ruled by technology. Technology that quite often invades our privacy. The invasion of privacy is known all too well to the citizens of Oceania from the novel 1984 by George Orwell. The telescreens in the novel capture every move, every facial expression, and every conversation of a party member and this is so that Big Brother has the reassurance that the party members are not involved in thoughtcrimes. Additionally, the technology we have today, such as our computers, phones, tablets are fairly similar to the telescreens since they all incorporate in the invasion of our privacy by either tracking our every move or by filming or by allowing others to know what we are currently doing on social media. We live in the 21st
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Needless to say, that cell phones have evolved from being “bricks” to smartphones that can even track our location. The question is, have cell phones stopped being just cell phones? Or are they devices which allow others access into our privacy? The article, “That’s No Phone. That’s My Tracker” written by Peter Maass and Megha Rajagopalan, claims that phones have ceased to be just cell phones and should now be considered trackers. Now that cell phones have GPS locators installed in them, they can have the knowledge of our whereabouts. That being said, having the GPS locators in smartphones, has the feasibility to violate anyone’s privacy because, “If someone knows exactly where you are, they probably know what you are doing… it’s possible to predict your future whereabouts” (Maass, Rajagopalan). Furthermore, this quote can be easily referred to the government and there has been some speculation that the government not only uses our smartphones to track us but they also listen to our conversation via our own devices. Similarly, the novel 1984 includes a government, otherwise known as Big Brother, which keeps track of its party members at all times. They even have …show more content…
government a step closer to the society seen in 1984? A society confined of privacy, deprived of loving relationships and knowledge, forced to love a cruel government and brainwashed to believe “FREEDOM IS SLAVERY… TWO AND TWO MAKE FIVE ” (228, Orwell). The article, “Long Beach Police to Use 400 Cameras Citywide to Fight Crime” written by Richard Winton, reveals that the city police of Long Beach now have access to the surveillance cameras of privately owned businesses. Thus, the citizens of Long Beach are exposed to the utter scrutiny of the Long Beach police department. Although, they claim that “a central control center will enlist the private cameras only when the police know an incident is unfolding in a certain area” (Winton). How do we truly know they are being honest? After all, it would be logical that the police department should monitor the cameras for “safety purposes.” Conversely, without making too hasty of an assumption, it is possible that the police will only use the private cameras when they are aware of some criminal activities are taking place. Nevertheless, it does not take away from the fact a piece of our freedom is being stripped away. We have not given our consent of being recorded yet we are still being filmed. If that does not constitute a type of violation then, by all means, record away, but somehow it seems as if today’s society lives in a “glass house” and they do not seem to give any importance to the
Needless to say, that cell phones have evolved from being “bricks” to smartphones that can even track our location. The question is, have cell phones stopped being just cell phones? Or are they devices which allow others access into our privacy? The article, “That’s No Phone. That’s My Tracker” written by Peter Maass and Megha Rajagopalan, claims that phones have ceased to be just cell phones and should now be considered trackers. Now that cell phones have GPS locators installed in them, they can have the knowledge of our whereabouts. That being said, having the GPS locators in smartphones, has the feasibility to violate anyone’s privacy because, “If someone knows exactly where you are, they probably know what you are doing… it’s possible to predict your future whereabouts” (Maass, Rajagopalan). Furthermore, this quote can be easily referred to the government and there has been some speculation that the government not only uses our smartphones to track us but they also listen to our conversation via our own devices. Similarly, the novel 1984 includes a government, otherwise known as Big Brother, which keeps track of its party members at all times. They even have …show more content…
government a step closer to the society seen in 1984? A society confined of privacy, deprived of loving relationships and knowledge, forced to love a cruel government and brainwashed to believe “FREEDOM IS SLAVERY… TWO AND TWO MAKE FIVE ” (228, Orwell). The article, “Long Beach Police to Use 400 Cameras Citywide to Fight Crime” written by Richard Winton, reveals that the city police of Long Beach now have access to the surveillance cameras of privately owned businesses. Thus, the citizens of Long Beach are exposed to the utter scrutiny of the Long Beach police department. Although, they claim that “a central control center will enlist the private cameras only when the police know an incident is unfolding in a certain area” (Winton). How do we truly know they are being honest? After all, it would be logical that the police department should monitor the cameras for “safety purposes.” Conversely, without making too hasty of an assumption, it is possible that the police will only use the private cameras when they are aware of some criminal activities are taking place. Nevertheless, it does not take away from the fact a piece of our freedom is being stripped away. We have not given our consent of being recorded yet we are still being filmed. If that does not constitute a type of violation then, by all means, record away, but somehow it seems as if today’s society lives in a “glass house” and they do not seem to give any importance to the