After reading Panopticism by Foucault, I began to think about how monitored I am throughout the day without even my realizing it. In school, I sit at a desk where the teacher is in center-front of the room giving his lecture and the doors have windows that people routinely look through. Also, we have windows that lead to the outside. On the main floor, certain windows allow passer-bys to peek into the room. In my house, I also have windows. Here, however, people can see through them and determine whether others are home or not, awake or sleep, avoiding them or answering the door. Our windows are not darkly tinted and even the bathrooms don't go all the way to the floor or up to the wall. At any time during my day, I have no idea how many people are watching me. Even when we eat our lunches at a circular table, there is surveillance. The only time humans are truly without surveillance is our digital-lives and our relationship with online social media.
The online world is harsh and cruel. It is a place where people who normally hide within the woodwork, now speak freely and critically. Foucault says that the Panoptican, "was also a laboratory; it could be used as a machine to carry out experiments, to alter behavior, to train or correct individuals" (Foucault 10). I believe this certainly true in the case of online bullying. When the bully is out int he open and everyone is watching her petty actions, she is less likely to continue the behavior. However, if she is left to her own devices evil words will flow over. Humans are,at the a core, flawed being. The Panoptican allows us to check our moral code more often because we are always being monitored.
Question:Have you ever written a mean comment on Facebook?
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