Big Brother is watching

Like the proliferation of spycams and the rise of reality TV, it reflects a culture in which privacy is sacrificed for “security”, invaded for pleasure, and exploited for profit.

Every time you walk into a mall, a jewellery store or even a hotel lobby you know that there are close circuit televisions (CCTVs) all around keeping a close watch on you.

But ever imagined how it would be like if there are CCTVs keeping a watch on you in your workplace, in the classroom or in places of recreation?

You might be already feeling a little unnerved about the whole idea but that’s precisely what some schools and offices are doing to keep tabs on the students and staff.

Pradip Basu, reader, department of political science, Scottish Church College, says, “Constant surveillance creates a lot of stress and people cease to be themselves.

This can have a long-term impact on society altogether. This is a classic case of the Panopticon reinforced.”

The Panopticon was proposed as a model prison by Jeremy Bentham (1748-1832), a theorist of British legal reform.

The Panopticon, was a circular designed prison that ensured no prisoner could ever see the ‘inspector’ who conducted surveillance from the privileged central location at the top.

The prisoner could never know when he was being spied on. Hence, mental uncertainty proved to be a crucial instrument of discipline.

French philosopher Michel Foucault described the implications of ‘Panopticism’ in his 1975 work Discipline & Punish: The Birth of the Prison.

He delved into the psychological dissemination of control through this system and said, “It is not surprising that factories, schools, barracks, hospitals, all resemble prisons.”

Thirty years after Foucault wrote the book, this is what’s precisely happening in our society, thanks to CCTVs. As psychiatrist Amarnath Mallick says, “Children go through primary socialisation in school.

The entire process will be jeopardised if there is constant surveillance on them. They will lose their spontaneity and instead become mechanical in their behaviour.”

Sonali Chowdhury, whose six-yearold son goes to this new-age school that plans to install CCTVs is strongly opposed to the idea. “I think this idea of spying on children is uncalled for.

This is like robbing them off their innocence.” Malini Bhagat, headmistress, Mahadevi Birla Girls’ Higher Secondary school says, “This disturbs the natural behaviour of children and will result in more stress-related disorders.”

If CCTVs in schools are throwing up a debate, there are plenty of institutions like hotels and corporate houses that are installing CCTVs, sometimes without the permissible knowledge of the employees.

“We know the management is keen on having hidden cameras installed in strategic areas. The whole idea is scary,” states a hotel employee smugly.

Ashok Dutta, director, IISWBM, however, feels that CCTVs in libraries can curb theft and mutilation of books, “but there is no point resorting to such extreme measures in the classrooms.”

It seems our whole society is coming under close-circuit surveillance. As Foucault pointed out, this information about us is the knowledge that can be used to exert power on us.

Next time you exchange notes about your superior near the washstand, beware. You might just be watched!

caltimes@timesgroup.com
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