1984 In Today's Society Essay
The Relevance of 1984 in Today’s Society
There are many social developments in society that could be identified as “Orwellian”, in which these changes have encroached on the rights and freedoms that we are privy to. These social developments and events have presented themselves in the form of social media and exist in the way that we are surveillanced as a society by the government. These instances have highlighted both positive and negative impacts of Orwellianism.
The first example of Orwellianism seen in today’s society is how social media and third-party providers use these platforms to obtain information from their consumers. According to an article, “Government Using Social Apps to Spy on You”, the government stores your data, metadata, to keep track of you (Bloom, 2014). This article contemplating today’s society shares strikingly similar characteristics to the book 1984, by George Orwell, because both societies are watched and monitored as the book 1984 states, “Big Brother is Watching You!”. In 1984, civilians’ thoughts and actions are closely and constantly monitored by the government and through the thought police while in today’s society, our world is run on the constant use of technology which also involves the daily, constant use of social media to post pictures, set up meetings, and to share personal information. Through …show more content…
the use of these platforms, this article suggests that the government is able to monitor your actions and can collect information through monitoring who you contact and when (Bloom, 2014). This can also be related to the world around me as Nico Sell, the CEO of Wickr, states, “There’s been many stories about Skype working with governments all over the world […] Even Snapchat has let people know that they’ve given snaps to the FBI.”, this quote illustrates how apps used across the globe allow agencies to monitor the contact between people on an international scale. A recent event relating to privacy issues similar to this, is the issue that was recently brought to light concerning the data privacy issues in regards to Facebook in which malicious third-parties are able to access and obtain user data (Castillo, 2018). This has occured to me in terms of the advertisements I see on my social media page. For instance, when I was researching the Ivey Business School program and considering the dual degree program they have, the next day when I was browsing through my social media, the advertisements that appeared were in regards to the Ivey Business School.
Some negative impacts of Orwellianism in today’s society would include the invasion of privacy, encroaches on some of the basic rights and freedoms each civilian is entitled to, and unintentionally gives the government power to influence our opinions and beliefs with the information they are able to collect.
Some positive impacts of an Orwellian society would include citizens feeling safe, reduction in crime rates, which in turn would reduce the rate of police brutality and police forces, it would cut down military costs, and allow the government to prevent and/or quickly handle global pandemics and natural disasters
(Armstrong,
Another social development that can be identified as Orwellianism in today’s society is the slang used in comparison to Newspeak. Newspeak would be the English language stripped down to a limited amount of words in effort to discourage any thoughts. In Newspeak, words such as bad would be ‘ungood’ and something that is considered very bad would be ‘doubleplus ungood’. In the English language, Newspeak would essentially be a compilation of verbs, nouns, and acronyms, created “to diminish the range of thought”. In comparison to the way we speak today, there are many similarities which can be seen between modern slang and newspeak. As slang is a stripped down version of English to communicate ideas faster and more expressively by using acronyms which stand for shortened phrases or phrases that utilize imagery; create a visualization. For instance, acronyms we use when communicating online include “LOL” which means “laughing out loud”, “BAE” meaning “babe” or “before anyone else” , or “IMHO” which is an acronym for “In My Humble Opinion”. I often use acronyms such as these when communicating with friends or family members in which I communicate with nuances of meanings, which would also “diminish the range of thought.” Thereby demonstrating another instance of Orwellianism present in today’s society.
In conclusion, these social developments in society can be identified as “Orwellian”; A term used to state the similarity in regards to George Orwell’s novel, 1984. The events and issues regarding the development of social media and the communication of the English language through modern slang that all represent Orwellianism.
There are many social developments in society that could be identified as “Orwellian”, in which these changes have encroached on the rights and freedoms that we are privy to. These social developments and events have presented themselves in the form of social media and exist in the way that we are surveillanced as a society by the government. These instances have highlighted both positive and negative impacts of Orwellianism.
The first example of Orwellianism seen in today’s society is how social media and third-party providers use these platforms to obtain information from their consumers. According to an article, “Government Using Social Apps to Spy on You”, the government stores your data, metadata, to keep track of you (Bloom, 2014). This article contemplating today’s society shares strikingly similar characteristics to the book 1984, by George Orwell, because both societies are watched and monitored as the book 1984 states, “Big Brother is Watching You!”. In 1984, civilians’ thoughts and actions are closely and constantly monitored by the government and through the thought police while in today’s society, our world is run on the constant use of technology which also involves the daily, constant use of social media to post pictures, set up meetings, and to share personal information. Through …show more content…
the use of these platforms, this article suggests that the government is able to monitor your actions and can collect information through monitoring who you contact and when (Bloom, 2014). This can also be related to the world around me as Nico Sell, the CEO of Wickr, states, “There’s been many stories about Skype working with governments all over the world […] Even Snapchat has let people know that they’ve given snaps to the FBI.”, this quote illustrates how apps used across the globe allow agencies to monitor the contact between people on an international scale. A recent event relating to privacy issues similar to this, is the issue that was recently brought to light concerning the data privacy issues in regards to Facebook in which malicious third-parties are able to access and obtain user data (Castillo, 2018). This has occured to me in terms of the advertisements I see on my social media page. For instance, when I was researching the Ivey Business School program and considering the dual degree program they have, the next day when I was browsing through my social media, the advertisements that appeared were in regards to the Ivey Business School.
Some negative impacts of Orwellianism in today’s society would include the invasion of privacy, encroaches on some of the basic rights and freedoms each civilian is entitled to, and unintentionally gives the government power to influence our opinions and beliefs with the information they are able to collect.
Some positive impacts of an Orwellian society would include citizens feeling safe, reduction in crime rates, which in turn would reduce the rate of police brutality and police forces, it would cut down military costs, and allow the government to prevent and/or quickly handle global pandemics and natural disasters
(Armstrong,
Another social development that can be identified as Orwellianism in today’s society is the slang used in comparison to Newspeak. Newspeak would be the English language stripped down to a limited amount of words in effort to discourage any thoughts. In Newspeak, words such as bad would be ‘ungood’ and something that is considered very bad would be ‘doubleplus ungood’. In the English language, Newspeak would essentially be a compilation of verbs, nouns, and acronyms, created “to diminish the range of thought”. In comparison to the way we speak today, there are many similarities which can be seen between modern slang and newspeak. As slang is a stripped down version of English to communicate ideas faster and more expressively by using acronyms which stand for shortened phrases or phrases that utilize imagery; create a visualization. For instance, acronyms we use when communicating online include “LOL” which means “laughing out loud”, “BAE” meaning “babe” or “before anyone else” , or “IMHO” which is an acronym for “In My Humble Opinion”. I often use acronyms such as these when communicating with friends or family members in which I communicate with nuances of meanings, which would also “diminish the range of thought.” Thereby demonstrating another instance of Orwellianism present in today’s society.
In conclusion, these social developments in society can be identified as “Orwellian”; A term used to state the similarity in regards to George Orwell’s novel, 1984. The events and issues regarding the development of social media and the communication of the English language through modern slang that all represent Orwellianism.