Surveillance & Social Control in the Digital Age

Michel Foucault used Jeremy Bentham's Panopticon — a prison designed so inmates could be watched at any time without knowing when they were being observed — as a metaphor for modern social control. The awareness of potential surveillance causes people to regulate their own behavior, making external force unnecessary. Today's digital infrastructure creates what scholars call a 'digital panopticon': smartphones track location, social media platforms record preferences and relationships, facial recognition identifies individuals in crowds, and data brokers compile comprehensive profiles sold to advertisers, employers, and governments. Unlike Foucault's model, digital surveillance is often invisible and voluntary — we carry the surveillance devices ourselves and provide the data willingly.