Smartphones and Social Media - "A Mass Surveillance Dystopia" By Academy of Ideas A smart phone in every pocket, smart devices all around us, and all constantly connected to the internet, has created a variation of the Panopticon that does away with the need for any special architectural design. We are surrounded by a public who embodies the potential gaze of guards. At any moment our actions can be recorded by another person and displayed to hundreds, thousands or even millions of people for quick, and sometimes ruthless, judgement. “. . . the Panopticon broken free of [its] physical architecture” writes Weissman “. . . is a paranoiac delusion made reality as anyone may potentially be watching at any time—at least as soon as one steps foot out the front door. . .” Jeremy Weissman, The Crowdsourced Panopticon In this panopticon-type of peer-to-peer surveillance society we become in the words of Michel Foucault “the principle of [our] own subjection” (Michel Foucault, Discipline and Punish). Always knowing that our words and actions can be recorded and uploaded to social media leads to the emergence of a new form of justice based not only on the punishment of transgressors, but on preventing “even the possibility of wrongdoing, by immersing people in a field of total visibility where the opinion, observation and discourse of others would restrain them from harmful acts.” (Michel Foucault, Power/Knowledge) Or as Weissman explains: “Through the state of constant uncertainty over whether one is being watched, [we] ultimately internalize the gaze of the guard, and in a sense become a guard over [ourself], constantly monitoring, judging, and correcting [our] behaviour, and eventually thoughts, and attitudes.” Jeremy Weissman, The Crowdsourced Panopticon Source Links: https://academyofideas.com/2021/10/smartphones-and-social-media-a-mass-surveillance-dystopia/ https://odysee.com/@academyofideas:3 https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCiRiQGCHGjDLT9FQXFW0I3A Copyright Disclaimer Under Section 107 of the Copyright Act 1976 allowance is made for "fair use" for purposes such as criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, and research. Fair use is a use permitted by copyright statute that might otherwise be infringing. Non-profit, educational or personal use tips the balance in favor of fair use. Support Dot Connector Reports LBC Donations: bRcMU2X4wtUw72Y55xbyNmvxquuSVLVLKJ ETC Coin Donations: 0x6A80840FC3A02868a72b061A018899e76Afe430C Thanks for watching. Please like, share, follow, & support. Dot Connector Reports https://odysee.com/$/invite/@DotConnectorReports:e & https://lbry.tv/$/invite/@DotConnectorReports?