Michel Foucault's theory of 'Panopticism' - a permanent state of surveillance - is something that we as a society are readily aware of, but aren't as familiar with the effect it has upon our behaviour.
We've all heard the statistics, "the average city dweller is caught on camera at least 300 times a day" but this is only one form of surveillance. Social networking, gyms with display glass windows, open-plan bars/pubs are all designed with panoptic undertones which change our motivations and therefore control our behaviour.
The internet is an uncontrollable device of panoptic control. With every website we visit being archived and institutional databases monitoring our desktop files, the lecture instantly reminded me of the AOL 'What do you think?' (2006) commercials, which provoked debate about whether the internet was a good thing or a bad thing.
Only last week, my Dad was telling me about using Google Street view in order to locate a house he was contracted to do a drainage survey. He said he'd zoomed in the the front door in order to see the house number, but felt very uncomfortable in doing so, as you could see through the front window into house. He said he felt incredibly intrusive and perverse as it felt like he was secretly spying on the lives of the residents. We began to discuss how amazing Google Earth actually is, but how it's equally a criminal paradise.
This good/bad debate is captured perfectly in the following ads. Showing the inspirational power of mass communication, as well as the disasterously corrupt consequences it can have.
Aol - The internet is a GOOD thing
Aol - The internet is a BAD thing
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