Implications of Social Media as a Regime of Surveillance as Well as a Regime of Commodification (Essay Sample)

Implications of social media as a regime of surveillance as well as a regime of commodification
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Implications of social media as a regime of surveillance as well as the regime of commodification.
Social media is defined in simple terms as applications and social websites created or formed to enable individuals popularly known as users to share and innovate digital content or information in social platforms. Over the current decade, the world as experienced a significant mushrooming and foundation of numerous social platforms which have become part of people's social life. Nowadays, almost every person in this world is in one way or the other part of this global sensation and advancement in social technology. Facebook, twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and telegram are examples of commonly used social networks nowadays where the users share and upload content to their peers. Social network as made the world a global village whereby it just requires the use of easily available devices such as phones, tablets, laptops and access to internet connectivity to connect with any person from different parts of the world. However, the advancement of social technology hasn’t been as smooth as it sounds, this is because some have viewed it as an opportunity to observe and monitor people’s activities on social media and their real life day to day activities. This vice is commonly known as surveillance which is in most cases termed as being socially unethical since it infringes on the individuals right to privacy and freedom of expression. (Nicole, 2007). This essay will provide a detailed analysis of effects of social media as a tool of surveillance and modification. It will primarily base its discussion points on the impacts of social media as being used to monitor the public activities as they network through this social platforms and mainly will be concerned with the application of Foucault’s panopticon theory.
The constitution of various democratic nations in this world has a section that stipulates and states the human rights enjoyed by individuals in that country. One of the main crucial right that is supposed to be offered to each and every citizen is the right to express themselves freely without any legal or bureaucratic constraints. However, the persistent use of social media as a tool of surveillance by most countries has defiled the most basic form of human rights since individuals are denied their primary right to express themselves freely without being monitored every moment they do so. Governments which are constantly using social media to monitor their citizens are frequently risking violation of people's right to privacy and freedom of expression. These are two conflicting issues whereby the government argues that it is monitoring individuals private security life's and networks so as to promote security but also as they do that, they are going against constitutional guidelines which advocate for citizens' rights to privacy and expression. Government surveillance activities can also negatively influence the people's rights to free speech, this is because if people perceive that the authorities are constantly monitoring what they share on their social platforms then they will tend to censor and alter their actual free speeches so as to avoid any confrontations with the authorities. This has an advance negative effect on the positive growth of the society since citizens are exempted from discussing political and social issues that may be positive towards the development of the society. According to a U.N special activist on human rights, Frank La Rue, he stated that “communications surveillance should be regarded as a highly intrusive act that potentially interferes with the rights to freedom of expression and privacy and threatens the foundations of a democratic society”. According to his statement, it means that it's impossible for a particular self-proclaimed democratic country to exercise communications surveillance towards its citizens and at the same claim to uphold and respect human rights to freedom of expression, free speech and the right to personal privacy. (Lamont, 2016).
Panopticon theory is a model that was developed by a French philosopher known as Michael Foucault which is explained in his book titled “Discipline and punish” Foucault, (1979) used this theory to conceptualize a panopticon as an experiment to explain how surveillance is practiced in our modern societies. Foucault’s theory explains panopticon as a central prison for punishing culprits in the society, in the facility the inmates are subject to a continuous twenty-four hours surveillance in a day which involves monitoring their actions and behaviors from a raised central place. It also entails restricting the inmates from socializing with each other. Foucault, (1979) states that “he (the prisoner) is seen, but he does not see; he is the object of information, never a subject in communication and this invisibility is a guarantee of order” according to Foucault, (1979) the inmate were usually monitored every time but they couldn’t see the person monitoring their activities. Such surveillance technique used in panopticon ensured that the person in charge of the central surveillance center in the panopticon setting had absolute control over the whole population thereby he could exercise control in whichever he would have liked. Panopticon theoretical description by Foucault is evident in our societies and the surveillance activities carried out by different authorities or governments globally. These mechanisms include the use of closed-circuit television (CCTVs), surveillance in shopping malls, surveillance in workstations and surveillance in top government levels using powerful systems such as facial recognition software's to identify individuals from social networks. All these monitoring tools, systems, and mechanism apply the same concept as outlined in Foucault's panopticon theory whereby it is possible for the party monitoring the others to view their activities without the subjects being able to view or monitor the activities of their monitor. This ensures that the person of the monitoring process possess authority over the others since he enjoys a comparative advantage compared to the other individuals. According to Foucault, (1979), the advantages accrued from an application of panoptic theoretical framework can be used as a modification tool of discussions and issues that favors the ruling class and the bureaucrats. (Foucault, 1979).
Social implications of using social networks as a mechanism of surveillance is another point of concern while dealing with this matter. The social organization of peoples is what defines their existence and their beliefs in the society. Social media platforms have become such a great sensation in bringing together a social organization in our society. However, continuous monitoring of social groups organizations has led to consequential negative impacts on the social life of people. Social media has been in the forefront in organizing and planning ...