Technology in 1984 Compared to Technology in the 2010's Essay

Compare and contrast the concept of technological surveillance that Orwell envisioned in 1984 and the forms of technological surveillance that are used today

Nineteen eighty-four is a novel by George Orwell which was written in 1948. The novel is about the life of the main character (Winston) who lives in the futuristic world where Big Brother has full totalitarian power, and your every move is watched by the Party, who are the authorities in 1984. Every room has a large tele-screen with Big Brothers face on it. The tele-screens can listen in on all the conversations held, and can see everything. The public is constantly reminded that they are being watched by posters and billboards with the words Big Brother is watching you. Rebellion is near impossible and theres always the possibility of the Thought Police arresting you for thinking anything the party doesnt want you to think. Todays society has similar traits.

Recent reports have reported that all cell phones can be remotely tapped into, meaning others can be listening to your conversations, even if you dont know it. It is said that the only thing you can do against this is to take the battery out of your phone. Authorities have the right to listen in on everything youre saying. Clearly, the authorities dont listen to every single conversation held by everyone on earth, but if you are a suspected or known criminal, chances are, someones listening to you. There isnt a doubt that the Party in nineteen eighty-four would have been doing the same, if the technology were available. The motives however would have been quite different. Now, for example, this technology would be used if you were a suspected terrorist and the conversation would be listened to, in order to save lives. However, in the world of Nineteen Eighty-four, all conversations would have probably been listened to so that the Thought Police could be notified if you were thinking anything that the party didnt want you to.

Another similarity to technological surveillance used in Nineteen Eighty-four and surveillance today would be the CC TV used most prominently in England. CCTV stands for Closed Circuit Television, and its basically a network of cameras all around the country which can monitor everything, anytime. This is very similar to the tele-screens in Nineteen Eighty-Four. However CCTV is a lot less invasive. Winston had a large tele-screen in his bedroom which could watch everything being done whereas CCTV cameras are not set up in houses, only in streets and areas where masses of people come every day. Everything is recorded and saved so that crimes can be stopped or solved. So again, its more of a issue of security, and not that the anyone is trying to brainwash us, watching our every move. It is also important to note that these networks of cameras are accepted to most of the public, although there will always be a small group of people whom are concerned about their privacy.

There are many more similarities between technology used in Nineteen eighty-four and today, but most obvious is the popular reality television program called Big Brother. Its a game show where multiple contestants live in a house for a few weeks and one of them gets eliminated at a time. Cameras and microphones are everywhere inside the house so that the viewers at home can see and hear everything they do. This in a sense is very similar to Big Brothers techniques in the novel, however is the clearly very different as well. The contestants of the show have all consented to the rules of the show, knowing what it implies. They are not in a life and death situation like Winston was near the end of the book, and this program is purely for entertainment purposes.

Lastly, a surveillance technique Big Brother would have probably used if they had the technology would have been monitored internet use. Today, this is usually used for offices, so that the boss can check on what his or her employees are really doing on the computer. This isnt nessecairily a measure taken for security reasons, but mostly used for bosses to make sure that his or her employees are wasting his or her money. Since most workers get paid by the hour, the employer wants to make sure that he isnt playing them for nothing. However, if they had had this sort of technology in Nineteen eighty-four, they would have most likely used it to make sure that messages arent being sent which breach the rules of the Party. It would simply be another way for the Party to monitor everything.

So to conclude, similar technology is used today, but not for the same reasons. Today we have freedom of speech which means that we can write or say whatever we want. Todays surveillance is used for security and safety, but in Nineteen eighty-four, surveillance was used to make sure that no one would rebel against the Party or Big Brother. However it is entirely possible that governments today could also be using the surveillance to check on what everyone is thinking and communicating to one another.