Panopticism

The panopticon is a type of jail that has a main tower that looks upon each one of the cells in the building. Each cell is completely open and you have no way of hiding from the person who is watching you in the tower. The person who is on watch in the tower cannot be seen by the inmates because of the backlight that shines, therefore they never know when they are being watched and by whom. With the panopticon it doesn’t matter who is in power and watching you “any individual, taken almost at random can operate the machine: in the absence of the director, his family, his friends, his visitors, even his servants” (Foucault). Foucault also says that with the panopticon, physical confrontation is avoided. I think panopticism in the description that Foucault gives, is about being watched constantly and not knowing who is watching you. You have to present yourself in a favorable way and stay out of trouble because you don’t know if you’re ever going to be caught doing something wrong.

            There are a few examples I have from our every day lives that resemble the panopticon. 2 examples that I have thought about are facebook and twitter; it can also stretch to just about any social media site that is out there. With these websites you have no idea who is looking at your profile or your blog or how much they are looking at it; just like with the panopticon. It can be anybody who is looking at you, from your family and friends to strangers that you don’t even know. You are giving up your power of your own privacy and putting it into the hands of others. With facebook, a lot of employers can search you and find out what you like, what you don’t like, and your hobbies. If you have done anything illegal (underage drinking, drugs, etc.) and you have posted about it, those employers and the general public will see that and judge you on it before they even know who you are.

            I have a big problem with twitter especially how it pertains to being watched without knowing and the idea of your power being given up. Twitter is addicting, you can tweet about absolutely anything and a lot of the times it is a way therapy, getting your own thoughts out there can make any person feel better. You gain followers and follow other people, but like the panopticon you have absolutely no idea who’s looking at your tweets or repeating them to others. With twitter you can retweet (when you like someone else’s tweet and put it as yours, so his or her tweet goes out to everyone who follows you). It is like sharing on facebook; people who don’t know you will see your profile and what you thought was private is now being shared with the world essentially. The reason I have such a problem with twitter is because I used to have it, and tweeted a lot last year about what was happening in school/life/home, etc. My estranged father stalked my twitter for over a year and brought up things pertaining to my schooling in court. I had no idea he even knew what twitter was and it made me very uneasy. I had no way of knowing that he was looking at my twitter, and wouldn’t have had any other way of knowing had court not happened. It felt like a huge blow to my own privacy and made me think how I wouldn’t be able to know if any other strangers out there were doing the same thing.

            Avoiding physical contact is also very relatable between the panopticon and the social media sites. You can hide behind your computer screen and aren’t forced to confront someone (or society) if you have a problem with him or her, which can end up being bad. Avoiding physical contact, or any contact can lead to cyber bullying because you’re hiding behind your computer screen and making fun of someone, or judging them for how you see them on facebook/twitter and also for how they portray themselves.