Throughout the novel Brave New World by Aldous Huxley, there are numerous allusions to surveillance of individuals. However, an interesting property of the surveillance state is that it relies heavily on the fear of reprisal from other citizens. For example, in the new world, those who spend time alone or participate in monogamous relationships are chastised by fellow citizens and reprimanded by the government. Although this may appear to be a far cry from our world, there are numerous parallels that can be drawn between the two. In an article entitled “A Day in the Life of Big Brother” by Erik Sherman, the components of services that citizens use daily are observed as to how they track, and in turn report, the actions of their users.
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Through a vast majority of the services we utilize daily, most of which often appear innocuous, data about users is collected and distributed to third parties. In the article “A Day in the Life of Big Brother”, Sherman guides the reader through the daily routine of an individual, referred to as J. Doe, and their interactions with a plethora of services that most individuals utilize daily. First, J. Doe wakes up and reads the news through Google. Google, and his Internet Service Provider, use analytical tools, such as cookies, to follow Doe’s reading habits online and use that information to analyze his preferences. Following this, Doe commutes to work through a state that utilizes electronic toll ways, which follow and record his path. Just before Doe arrives at work, he stops for coffee at Starbucks and his order is recorded and cataloged in their system. Once he gets to work, these forms of tracking become even more …show more content…
These services look into our habits and actions to attempt to assemble a profile about their users. Primarily, this information is provided to advertising firms to learn best how to increase consumerism and ensure that the populace purchases products. Furthermore, it has influenced the populace to follow their conditioning by always presenting them with the concern that they are being watched. This is especially accurate following the revelations by whistleblowers, such as Edward Snowden, which have been able to prove that national agencies often partner with these services through sharing of information to track citizens. This, in turn, perpetuates ideas pushed by society and the
Through a vast majority of the services we utilize daily, most of which often appear innocuous, data about users is collected and distributed to third parties. In the article “A Day in the Life of Big Brother”, Sherman guides the reader through the daily routine of an individual, referred to as J. Doe, and their interactions with a plethora of services that most individuals utilize daily. First, J. Doe wakes up and reads the news through Google. Google, and his Internet Service Provider, use analytical tools, such as cookies, to follow Doe’s reading habits online and use that information to analyze his preferences. Following this, Doe commutes to work through a state that utilizes electronic toll ways, which follow and record his path. Just before Doe arrives at work, he stops for coffee at Starbucks and his order is recorded and cataloged in their system. Once he gets to work, these forms of tracking become even more …show more content…
These services look into our habits and actions to attempt to assemble a profile about their users. Primarily, this information is provided to advertising firms to learn best how to increase consumerism and ensure that the populace purchases products. Furthermore, it has influenced the populace to follow their conditioning by always presenting them with the concern that they are being watched. This is especially accurate following the revelations by whistleblowers, such as Edward Snowden, which have been able to prove that national agencies often partner with these services through sharing of information to track citizens. This, in turn, perpetuates ideas pushed by society and the