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The Panopticon of Social Media
The concept of Panopticon has been referenced in discussions about the impact of social media. Jake Goldenfein, researcher at the University of Melbourne's Centre for Media and Communications Law, explains that the panopticon metaphor differs when we look at government surveillance in relation to social media and web browsing. While the original panopticon refers to people being observed by a watchman, now people are being observed for what they do online. It has less to do with a person's body and actual actions, and more to do with what he or she is viewing. Even post-Snowden, the concept of being watched is somewhat elusive when people generally feel they are browsing the Internet with anonymity since no one is directly looking at them. Goldenfein suggests that because internet surveillance does not have to do with a person's physical body, people do not feel as if they have to be as aware. He questions whether we are being normalized now in relation to the panopticon, and if the original intention of the panopticon to correct behavior applies to actions on the internet and social media.