Negative Effects Of Technology On Society In George Orwell's Big Brother

Is our technology taking us closer to the world of Big Brother? Big Brother is the head of the Party, the leader with great power in George Orwell’s 1984. Real or not, his existence remains unknown in the novel, ruling all of the people in an anti-utopian society in Oceania. Citizens are constantly knowledgeable of his presence due to slogan asserted by all posters and telescreens “BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU.” Therefore, the abuse of our technology will be taking us near the world of Big Brother.

The more innovative technology gets, the more it seems to have dominance over people's lives. Nables in the article, “Negative Effects of Technology on Society” explains how an individual rely on technology to do most of the work for them, and only

That’s My Tracker.”, argue that people should stop calling smartphones “phones” and call them something else like trackers. Maass and Rajagopalan support their claim by first explaining the explosion of GPS technology and smartphones apps keeping track of where people are, what has been bought, and the balance of someone’s bank account. “‘Every year, private companies spend millions of dollars developing new services that track, store and share the words, movements and even the thoughts of their customers’” (Maass and Rajagopalan 5). This quote asserts that companies now try to make apps in order to find someone’s interest, what is nearby and suggest any of the appeals that person might have, which seems like a little bit too much. In addition, in the novel 1984 the Thought Police knew the every move of citizens, and in society now the police can easily just find the location of someone who has their cellular device. “Many police agencies don’t obtain search warrants when requesting location data from carriers” (Maass and Rajagopalan 2). This can relate to the world of Big Brother because the telescreens were basically everywhere knowing the location of almost everyone. If people do not carry their cellular device, Long Beach police now has eyes everywhere along the

Although, it seems more of a Big Brother case because how would it really benefit the citizens other than making them feel out of their comfort zone since they are being watched. McDonnell states, “‘We are using every technology advantage to improve safety in this city. Long Beach officers will now know even before they arrive what potential threats they face,’” (Winton 5). Furthermore, this seems like a benefit for the police, but not the people because if there were a shooting for example, the police will have the tape to catch the criminal. However they will not be there watching in order to prevent a death and a loss of a family member. It would seem relatable as to the world of Big Brother because Long Beach police will use the cameras in order to see who is showing disloyalty to the law. McDonnell said, “‘It is designed to make us more efficient in combating crime and to promote greater community and officer safety’” (Winton 9). This quote sounds like there are just thinking about themselves and not the citizens, they want to assure officer safety, but want a better community not a safer one for citizens. Nevertheless, many other people might not perceive these relevances identical to