Thursday, September 20, 2012

Panopticon=Facebook

I don't have Facebook, I never have had one, but even the politics of the internet have really been exposed to everyone (even though it was never really hidden) that what is done on the internet will stay forever on the internet.  The idea of posting on a mandated site about everything your doing in your life never quite made sense.  So you can pretty much break Facebook down into a complete diagram of a panopticon:
First there's the idea that you are entering onto a site that is monitored.  Every post, every picture, ever tag is cataloged and even stamped for approval. 
Then you have the idea that everyone else could see what you are posting, friends, tagging, interests, etc. Facebook did try to enhance security, but the idea of it is a joke.  Most people add "friends" that are one time acquaintances or people they havent even met. Also, hacking is so huge right now, I can go onto Youtube and type hacking into Facebook and there are about 100,000 videos of the step by step process.
Next there is the idea of posting content to morph yourself into this alter ego personal, not only through your "profile" page, but the images you post and even down to the games that they have that embellish gaming renditions of house, if you will. 

The only difference between facebook and a panopticon is the blatant disregard of caring or maybe even the want or need to be objectifying your life or yourself to other people as if your are important enough for other people to actually care or want to know what you had for dinner.
The panopticon is at least a controlled situation that is taken out of your hands to change (enless you are the enforcer), whereas Facebook is a symbolization that control and having this all seeing eye is obviously no issue to anyone and yet people get freaked out by the idea that Google saves and actively screens what you are searching.

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