World Changing #5 Kathie Chung

World Changing #5
Watching the Watchers pg. 447
Kathie Chung

In our modern society, technological advances in portable surveillance have made it easier for people to surveillance and be surveillanced through portable cameras, camera phones, and etc. Thus, our society now can be called “Panopticon,” which refers to a society being constantly watched. Such constant observation into the personal lives, many people see it as an invasion of privacy. So, the government and other institutions such not have the right to constantly observe their lives. However, what this book is asking is that who is watching the people who are constantly observing our actions? Therefore, with easy access to cheap cameras such as cell phones and etc., citizens, such as protestors during riots, are able to expose the physical abuse inflicted on them by police. This is called “sousveillance,” which means watching from below. As a result, constant sousveillance of higher corporate/ political officials can be constantly watched by the citizens whether they are doing harm to the environment or even lying about their proposals. Also, surveillance can be used to survey the environment such as atmospheric sensors and etc., to check the quality of air or even smog. Called an earth phone, this technology can also help people be more aware of the constant changes in the environment and therefore, can take action before more harm is caused.