Invasion of Privacy? 1984 - 10.6.15

     In George Orwell's novel 1984, the reader can see that there is a recurring theme of having your own privacy invaded, even in your own home. “The telescreen received and transmitted simultaneously. Any sound that Winston made, above the level of a very low whisper, would be picked up by it, moreover, so long as he remained within the field of vision which the metal plaque commanded, he could be seen as well as heard.” (Orwell 2) This quote clearly shows that everyone in the Party is being watched and monitored to see if they will commit thoughtcrime against the Party. In chapter one on page four we find out that Winston owns a diary, and we also learn that he takes very careful measures so that he will not be found with it. He realizes that he should not sit in the range of the telescreen while writing in the diary as he was very possible he would be punished by death if he was caught. So by sitting in the corner of the room by the bookcase he was not able to be seen by the telescreen, only heard. 

     In order to connect this to the modern day invasion of privacy, I would like to connect this to something that Alisyn brought up in class last week. She talked about how Microsoft’s XBOX Kinect could always be listening to you and watching, since it does have a camera and a microphone. In fact, a news article from Daily Mail says that the Kinect device is always listening for a command by the user. Which then means that words, sounds, and actions can be seen as well as heard by Microsoft. Also, that is not all, Apple’s Siri records everything you say but Apple responded saying that all of your words are anonymized. Then again, on Daily Mail they give a reference to the book 1984 saying “Big Brother” and how one of Samsung’s new TV’s are able to pick up on everything said in front of them. I believe that the invasion of privacy is not to the same extent as it is presented in 1984. In 1984 the people are deprived from basic rights, for example, they are deprived of freedom of speech. If they were to speak out they would be killed by the thought police. Today we have freedom of speech as guaranteed in our Bill of Rights, but we are still monitored to protect national security. 

     In conclusion, the invasion of privacy is at a much larger scale in 1984 rather than it is today, even though there are plenty of ways major corporations and the government could look in and listen to our everyday conversations and actions.