bentham, foucault, social media as a prison, with computer themed playlist!

Hello??? What are you looking at???? I may have a face for radio- but why do I feel like everyone is watching me??? What are you looking at??

This week… we are talking about THE INTERNET AS A PANOPTICON!!!

Our good friend, friend of the show, Jeremy Bentham- an 18th century English philosopher, first created this concept of the panopticon. The panopticon is a design of a circular prison with a watch tower in the middle, shining off a bunch of lights, so that the prisoners are unable to discern whether or not there is someone in the tower. It is impossible for all of the prisoners to be watched at once, however this is not the point.

The concept is to allow all prisoners of an institution to be observed by a single prison officer, without the inmates knowing whether or not they are being watched. For the prisoners will act as if they are under surveillance, even if they are not.

In the early 20th century, Foucault, a contemporary French philosopher, applied Bentham’s panopticon in his 1975 book ‘Discipline and Punish’. He compared the idea of panopticon and life under surveillance with modern society.

Telescreens in 1984. The whole idea of life under surveillance and the power one has when they do this.

the internet is our panopticon!!