Mass Surveillance.
"is the intricate surveillance of an entire or a substantial fraction of a population in order to monitor that group of citizens."
The very name illicits images of the all seeing eye of Big Brother in George Orwell's 1984 and Government control. But what does it mean when it's not a fiction, and how is it manifested?
Contemporary Data Use
Contrary to George Orwell's 1984, mass surveillance is not only carried out by governments. Surveillance is carried out by private companies such as Facebook and Google, who use this information for targeted advertising. These private companies also feed information to Governments. This enourmous amount of data can map out a person, their habits, their hobbies, their health. All of which can provide convenient sources of information to a user, but also can be capitalised on in potentially unsavoury ways.
Realities of a Monitored life
Surveillance has some subtleties and effects that reach beyond someone just knowing what you're doing. It can really affect how you think, and respond to important issues. This article in the Washington Post reveals researching showing that our likeliness of suppressing opinions when there is knowledge of surveillance, particularly government.
