Casey 1

Patrick Casey
Veena Ramen
CAS 137H, section 3
3 November 2014
Privacy
In 2012 a man once made a pair of experimental electronic glasses that were
attached surgically to his head. They helped him to see better and posed as research for a
newly developed technology to help others see better. One day on vacation in France, he
visited a McDonalds with his family. As he ordered, after reading a note describing the
spectacles, three employees turned their nametags backwards, and tried to rip the glasses
from his head. As it turns out the glasses could take photos and had recording
capabilities, (Dvorsky). As technology grows on an exponential scale, the concept of
privacy around the world is changing. Because technology is considered a free and public
tool, it cannot be restricted. People are no longer private in environments in which they
thought they were private in. It seems the only thing private now are peoples thoughts.
But even then people are spilling those out on social media for the whole world to see.
When a person thinks of privacy, according to Journalist Glen Greenwald, they think of a
place where one can think, reason, speak and just be, without the cast of judgmental eyes
upon them, (Greenwald). But as technology grows, the meaning and control of privacy
changes. People change their attitudes and behavior when they know somebody is
watching them. Privacy has changed from being independent and second nature to now
being controlled and is now undermined in its importance. Over the past few decades
there has been a shift in peoples understanding of privacy and control over their own
privacy because of the change in technological advancements challenging cultural
notions of privacy.

Casey 2
Privacy before the rapid increase in technology privacy was very evident and
integrated into peoples lives to the point where it was second nature. Privacy was almost
taken advantage of as there were many places, rooms, and environments where one could
be alone, themselves, creative, and unafraid. Privacy was simply a place where there
were no other people. Though there are other examples, a clear illustration of privacy and
privacy being taken advantage of half a century ago, are criminals. When a criminal
wanted to be alone because he was per say, escaping or running away after doing an
illegal act, he or she was capable of doing so. 1940s gangsters had all sorts of hideouts
and ways of disappearing when they did not want to be seen, (Yablonsky). Until there
were modern day technologies such as computers and telephones, people could stay to
themselves and be care free of what was happening somewhere else or what somebody
else thought miles away. Even the U.S as a whole, back in the 1920s, tried to practice
this concept of isolationism after World War I because the United States did not want to
be involved in the hotheaded European affairs anymore, (Fensterwald 120). Because of
this, during the 1920s, according to Susan Currell, America developed much of its
growing identity and creativity dealing with its own private matters, as seen by many
pieces of literature, developed technology, and cultural norms and styles, sometimes
portrayed creatively in works like the Great Gatsby, or as Currell describes it, an era of
cultural renaissance, (Currell 2). But as countries became more and more intertwined
and dependent on each other, staying isolated became nearly impossible, (Yablonsky).
America was of course unwillingly pulled into WWII, which was a booming case of
increased surveillance, spy, and useful technology. Though as WWII ended Yablonsky
explains how people, and their country, tried to go back to their old, private, free lives,

Casey 3
but nothing was the same anymore as technology, expansionism, and worldly matters
made more and more people and countries dependent on others.
This common trend of continuous retreat to privacy and isolation can be explained
by Glen Greewalds Ted talk as he explains how people need their own privacy. On a
smaller scale privacy builds creativity, and confidence with one self. When people know
that they are being watched, their attitudes, actions, and behaviors change. People try to
adapt to what the expectations of the viewer are and conform to what they want society to
see them as. Therefore they become a product of their society, for better or for worse. As
a result, this hinders a persons creativity, sense of confidence, and learning. Privacy is a
time that people can experience and learn from themselves creating a sense of identity,
(Greenwald). Similarly, a country needs to have its own identity. Skimming along this
timeline, as the Cold War comes to its peak in the mid to late 1900s, this fear of
communism, and spies start to cause people to be more aware of their surroundings, and
are afraid to show their true selves as they might be considered the enemy. The Cold War
was an event that played a huge role in the development of national security. The
government had its own undercover agents and spies to sneak out and find any secretly
living communists, (Guiles). New recording and phone tapping equipment was created,
(Bamford). This resulted in distrust, and an increased look into peoples personal lives.
Peoples privacy began being invaded, though most people thought it was for the best
since they believed they were all fighting a common enemy. So people conformed to
what the ideal societal attitude and behavior was like at the time; the classic 1950s Leave
it to Beaver life style that was portrayed so perfectly in the media. People make
decisions not of their own agency, but of the expectations and judgments of others,

Casey 4
(Greenwald). Consequently, an invasion of privacy can lead to cultural changes, as fear
and control force people to act a certain way.
Crime happens to be however, one of the largest reasons why mass surveillance
and decreased privacy has come to fruition. An old philosopher named Jeremy Bentham
created the Panopticon, an invention for prisons in which there is a surveillance building
at the center of a circular room. Unable to see inside the tower, each prisoner in their cell
facing the Panopticon does not know at any given time whether they are being watched
and therefore must conceive himself to be so, (Bentham 40). So based off of this
invention, the best way to minimize criminal behavior is surveillance, and the idea that
everyone is being watched at all times. As technology increases, the invention of the
telephone and especially the Internet are two very prominent events. The Internet, a very
free and unrestricted place allows everyone to use it and with social media now, everyone
can stay in touch with anyone they want to without needing to be in the room with
another person. After September 11th occurred, the event put people in fear once again, so
they accepted a heavy increase in national security and surveillance over the Internet.
After the event involving Edward Snowden, the acceptance only amplified. As
technology has allowed the Internet to expand, mass surveillance became much easier for
the government. As people accept this new sense of security, they inadvertently gave up
their privacy on the Internet, a free, very unrestricted setting. The Internet, and probably
more prominent now, social media, can be monitored for bad things like terrorist
activities, or threats of any kind. However, since the Internet is so heavily monitored now,
asking to have privacy only raises suspicion, as though the person has something bad to
hide, when according to Greenwald, everyone has something to hide and privacy is a

Casey 5
necessary thing. In contrast to pre-1980s privacy, the invention of the internet, social
media, and advancement in cameras, has actually allowed people to watch others while
they are not even in the room with them. According to Peter Lilley in his book Hacked,
there have been instances where a person can actually make another persons computer
record what they are doing, if they are in the same room as the computer and smart
phones can film anybody on the street. Compared to before, privacy stood as just being
alone in a room, and in that sense, privacy is almost non-existent now. The right to
privacy has been severely diminished because of this increase and acceptance of
technology.
Privacy has shifted because of these technological advancements, making privacy
less controllable and have a different meaning. The government can help regulate privacy,
but it cannot take away a somehow widely accepted freedom of the use of technology,
even though it may interfere with ones right to privacy. The issue will arise about what is
more important to the people. However, this has been a long lasting ideal and just like
many other societal ideals, it can change over time and it is impermanent. For a long time
technology has been changing everyday life but recently there has been a large change.
People need privacy in order to be themselves. They way people perceive privacy will
change. People might actually have to monitor their own privacy as they have the right to
own their own personal information or will have to, start letting go of what they
traditionally considered to be private, (Reed Elsevier Inc). One solution is that the
government can do more to step in and help sustain peoples right to privacy. Whether its
putting in place a consent system or just using more regulations, something can and
should be done.

Casey 6
Works Cited
Bamford, James. "Clandestine Air War: The Truth Cold War US Surveillance Flights."
Harvard International Review 23.4 (2002): 86-8. ProQuest. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
Currell, Susan. American Culture in the 1920s. Edinburgh: Edinburgh University Press,
2009. Ebook Library. Web. 03 Nov. 2014.
Dvorsky, George. "What May Be the World's First Cybernetic Hate Crime Unfolds in
French McDonald's." Io9. N.p., 17 July 2012. Web. 27 Apr. 2014.
http://io9.com/5926587/what-may-be-the-worlds-first-cybernetic-hate-crimeunfolds-in-french-mcdonalds
Fensterwald, Bernard. "The Anatomy of American "Isolationism" and Expansionism. Part
I." The Journal of Conflict Resolution 2.2 (1958): 111-39.
Jeremy Bentham, The Works of Jeremy Bentham, published under the Superintendence
of his Executor, John Bowring (Edinburgh: William Tait, 1838-1843). 11 vols.
Vol. 4. November 2, 2014. <http://oll.libertyfund.org/titles/1925>
Lilley, Peter. Hacked, Attacked And Abused : Digital Crime Exposed. London: Kogan
Page, 2002. eBook Collection (EBSCOhost). Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
Scott-Smith, Giles. Western Anti-Communism and the Interdoc Network : Cold War
Internationale. Basingstoke: Palgrave Macmillan, 2012. Ebook Library. Web. 03
Nov. 2014.
"Technology's Cold War." B & T Weekly (2013)ProQuest. Web. 3 Nov. 2014.
Yablonsky, Lewis. Gangsters : Fifty Years Of Madness, Drugs, And Death On The Streets
Of America. New York: New York University Press, 1997. eBook Collection
(EBSCOhost). Web. 2 Nov. 2014.

Casey 7

o Poor mindset to use (Greenwald) If youre doing something you

dont want other people to know, maybe you shouldnt do it in the
first place, Bad versus good people
o Lack of privacy supported more so, along with events of national
security especially since during the late 80s and 90s America was

very intertwined in world events that affected national security.

Invention of facebook
o Inadvertent consent to lack of privacy
As technology increases, and as people accept this way of
life, they are inadvertently accepting a second way of life,
and that is a lack of privacy, or at least privacy, as people
know it. Privacy is still there, but there is a change in what
is considered private and what is considered necessary to
be private. What should be private in ones life is changing
as this world gets more and more close together and more
dense. A child can film anybody he wants and the person
filmed will never know. As people accept these
technological advancements, (as seen with the glasses
issue) people are taking responsibility for their own actions
with the unwritten consent that they lose their privacy.

(which some people inadvertently consent but truly dont).

Older people became more concerned but younger
generation loved the freedom.

Body P 3:

Casey 8

Events: Edward Snowden:

o Even more acceptance to this lack of security
o Fear has driven people.
o Prison in the mind (greenwald)
o Government intervention
Greenwalds idea of how a system of surveillance
oppresses a society because of the fear of people watching
them.

Conclusion

The government can help regulate privacy, but it cannot take away a
somehow widely accepted freedom of the use of technology, that may
interfere with ones right to privacy. The issue will arise about what is
more important to the people. However, this has been a long lasting ideal
called privacy, just like lots of other societal ideals, changes over time and
is impermanent. Since the beginning of the 19th century technological
advancements have been interfering and changing everyday life. Over the
past few decades there has been a shift in peoples understanding of
privacy and control over their own privacy because of the change in

technological advancements challenging cultural notions of privacy.

Privacy has shifted because of these technological advancements, making
privacy less controllable and have a different meaning. The government
can help regulate privacy, but it cannot take away a somehow widely
accepted freedom of the use of technology, that may interfere with ones
right to privacy. The issue will arise about what is more important to the
people. However, this has been a long lasting ideal and just like lots of
other societal ideals, it can change over time and it is impermanent. Since
the beginning of the 19th century technological advancements have been
interfering and changing everyday life but over the past few decades there
has been a large shift in the development of privacy. People need privacy
in order to be themselves. They way people perceive privacy will change.
People might actually have to monitor their own privacy as people have
the right to own their own personal information. One solution is that the
government can do more to step in and help sustain peoples right to

Casey 9
privacy. Whether its putting in place a consent system or just using more
regulations something can should be done.

Casey 10

Casey 11
Benthums mindset/ framework and experiment (event)
People need their own privacy. When people know that they are being watched,
their attitudes, actions, and behaviors change. Benthams penopticon, People try to adapt
to what the expectations of the viewer are. People, when watched, conform to what they
think people want to see them as, or what they want society to see them as. Therefore,
they become a product of their society, for better or for worse. As a result, people do not
act as their true selves and this hinders a persons creativity, sense of confidence, and
learning. Privacy is a time that people can experience and learn from themselves.