In 1984 the use of technology dominates the world similar to the society we live in today. In the novel 1984 the technology is actually a tool employed by the government to spy on the citizens of Oceania; the government tracks telescreens and microphones to stay aware of what the citizens are saying and doing. In addition, the government is also making sure that the citizens are not showing any signs of emotion so as they do not create an uprising against the government. The United States, on the other hand, is a free country that allows citizens to freely think and act as they please, as long as it is inside the confines of the law. However, in the United States, there are numerous types of technology with a multitude of applications. Technology
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In the novel 1984 “It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away” (Orwell 55). However, in public places it was easier to keep your thoughts straight “what was even worse than having to focus his mind on a series of niggling jobs was the need to conceal his agitation from the telescreen” (Orwell 95). There really was no social media in 1984 just the telescreens monitoring the citizens every movement. In contrast, in our modern society the citizens are in fact tracking themselves by constantly updating their location and posting their every thought on twitter and Facebook. The modern world does not seem concerned with hiding their thoughts and feelings because everyone is posting updates constantly because they want other people to know what they are doing at all times. Ian Crouch writes in “So Are We Living in 1984?” that “the notion that one’s personal digital messages would remain inviolably private forever, or that they would not be saved or stored was probably naïve” (Crouch). When posting all waking moments in the day it is easy for the government or anyone to track citizens and as stated in “Security vs Privacy” by Dan Parsons “it’s never been so unobtrusive. It’s never been so invisible” …show more content…
The technology was so advanced that “to keep your face expressionless was not difficult, and even your breathing could be controlled with an effort; but you could not control the beating of your heart, and the telescreen was quite delicate enough to pick it up” (Orwell 69-70). It may not seem obvious, but the use of technology that is delicate enough to pick up a heartbeat is incredible and is easily related to the technology in current society. In today’s society we have such advanced technology that it is easy for people to monitor sleep patterns, heartbeats, steps, calorie count and numerous other activities that would otherwise be almost impossible to keep track of. Nick Longoria writes in “Was George Orwell a Psychic?” that with “smartphones people can use them to keep track of sleep patterns know how many steps they have taken and even the oxygen level in their bloodstream (Longoria). In the novel there were scientific uses such as the “ear trumpets” but they were just not used as hearing aids. The use of this advanced technology easily relates to the novel 1984 because of the use of medical technology. Both the novel and current day society use medical technology to keep track of specific things in the lives of the citizens. Orwell suggests that in the future, the more advanced
In the novel 1984 “It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. The smallest thing could give you away” (Orwell 55). However, in public places it was easier to keep your thoughts straight “what was even worse than having to focus his mind on a series of niggling jobs was the need to conceal his agitation from the telescreen” (Orwell 95). There really was no social media in 1984 just the telescreens monitoring the citizens every movement. In contrast, in our modern society the citizens are in fact tracking themselves by constantly updating their location and posting their every thought on twitter and Facebook. The modern world does not seem concerned with hiding their thoughts and feelings because everyone is posting updates constantly because they want other people to know what they are doing at all times. Ian Crouch writes in “So Are We Living in 1984?” that “the notion that one’s personal digital messages would remain inviolably private forever, or that they would not be saved or stored was probably naïve” (Crouch). When posting all waking moments in the day it is easy for the government or anyone to track citizens and as stated in “Security vs Privacy” by Dan Parsons “it’s never been so unobtrusive. It’s never been so invisible” …show more content…
The technology was so advanced that “to keep your face expressionless was not difficult, and even your breathing could be controlled with an effort; but you could not control the beating of your heart, and the telescreen was quite delicate enough to pick it up” (Orwell 69-70). It may not seem obvious, but the use of technology that is delicate enough to pick up a heartbeat is incredible and is easily related to the technology in current society. In today’s society we have such advanced technology that it is easy for people to monitor sleep patterns, heartbeats, steps, calorie count and numerous other activities that would otherwise be almost impossible to keep track of. Nick Longoria writes in “Was George Orwell a Psychic?” that with “smartphones people can use them to keep track of sleep patterns know how many steps they have taken and even the oxygen level in their bloodstream (Longoria). In the novel there were scientific uses such as the “ear trumpets” but they were just not used as hearing aids. The use of this advanced technology easily relates to the novel 1984 because of the use of medical technology. Both the novel and current day society use medical technology to keep track of specific things in the lives of the citizens. Orwell suggests that in the future, the more advanced