Rise of the Surveillance State

It’s almost impossible in our current day and age to avoid leaving a digital footprint everywhere we go. Many of us do this with some manner of intentionality. We tag the places we’ve been when we go on Facebook, we post photos and videos and tell the world what we’ve been doing, presumably so that the world will know we’ve had worthwhile experiences and travels. We’re building up the front with which we show ourselves to the world. And that’s okay, we just want to show an aspect of ourselves to people who may be interested.

But at the same time, there are more and vast quantities of digital material which can be used to track and trace our every movements.  We don’t often think about the fact that swiping a credit card at whatever location might just be what it takes for someone— anyone to find you and discover where you’ve been. And what about every time you check your phone? That right there is a direct line to your precise global position. If someone wanted to find out every time you’ve accessed the internet and from where they might be able to. Scary isn’t it?

The film Erasing David forced me to consider our surveillance state like I’d never before thought to. Our world is chock full of security cameras, video phones, and there are databases everywhere for everything. The making of an appointment creates another sort of digital profile unlike the ones we create for ourselves. The records they keep can stick with us indefinitely, and when you think about just how much information various institutions keep about us it really is unnerving. What would happen if that information fell into the wrong hands? Our schools, our medical facilities, and public or government records keep track of so much information and rarely do we even think about it. That’s just the way our society works nowadays. And even online shopping creates a new component of our digital makeup. Our spending is tracked, our likes and dislikes monitored, profiles made and at the ready to sell to the highest bidder. With all the facets of our person that are stored in various databases, someone could put together a very broad, and very unsettling, understanding of who we are.

I have a few friends in the network security business and my boyfriend is even working for a company that harvests data for businesses, corporations, and the police. Though I may not have a perfect grasp on all the details, I know that these sorts of industries can find your name and information based on a keyword you might have tweeted or something in a status update. It’s crucial therefore to watch what we’re saying online and to be aware of the information that is held about us. I’m not saying that everything we post will be taken seriously or that we should withhold information from our doctors or institutions, but knowing just what we’re putting out there about ourselves is key. Perhaps no one cares at this time, but our privacy is still at risk. If someday it becomes an issue we may have to rethink how we deal with personal information.