Last night I couldn’t sleep. Partly because I knew I had a lot of work to finish up today and I was nervous about it. Partly because I had woken up from a bad dream in which I completely forgot about my neighbor’s fifth cat (which doesn’t exist) when I fed them this weekend and it was dead. But mostly because I started reading Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow. In the wake of another extension of the powers of the Patriot Act I found it an especially interesting read, particularly with the controversy over the “secret interpretation” of Section 215, which is said to give the FBI much wider surveillance powers than some lawmakers believe we would be comfortable with, were we to know. Creepy, and not unexpected.
The interesting thing is, in Little Brother, the main character is a teenager who is a computer whiz with some great leadership skills. When the Patriot Act, surveillance, and protecting the people goes too far, it is the teens who mobilize and shout not to trust anyone over 25! However, while I was reading it I was thinking that teens and people in their early twenties are much less likely to care about their privacy than we did when we were their age and now. Many teens and young adults post everything about their lives on Facebook with little care as to who sees it, according to many of the articles we have been reading. Then again, maybe it’s just the good for nothing teens I know and my 34-year old attitude problem. What do you guys think – would teens be likely to notice or care if DHS increased surveillance? Or did Doctorow simply transfer his Gen X mentality into the body of a present-day teen?
I also don't like this Section 215 thing--it has way to vague a wording, which does make it open to interpretation. But then I've never been a big fan of the Patriot Act to begin with. My boyfriend and I (half)joke about the occasional odd clicks we'll hear when on the phone, about wire tapping and how bored the FBI must be when they eavesdrop on our conversations. "Hi, Hon, how's business?"
ReplyDelete"Oh, I've had 5 people trying to sell me useless romances that I'm already overstocked on. How was your day?" "Oh, same old...studied, cataloged stuff...you know." (My boyfriend owns a used bookstore, in case you're wondering.)
I don't really know firsthand much about what kids are putting online, because I don't monitor the computers, but if it's anything like the conversations you hear in the Ancilla hallways, then I'd say they're not worried much about privacy. Which is sad, because apathy and unawareness can lead to more and more surveillance and fewer and fewer freedoms, because no one will care enough to protest and play the role of watchdog. That being said, there is usually a tipping point; if the U.S. government were to really crack down on Internet use for the general populace, and put tighter and tighter controls on it, I feel confident there would be an uproar of protest--probably led by the teens.
I just turned 24 (young and naive, I know :)) and I would say that most of my friends would have an opinion on increased surveillance and would be opposed to the government restricting our rights. We are one of the first generations to 'grow up' online-- we are used to sharing our lives with friends through pictures and status updates because it has been a part of our cultural norm for as long as we were old enough to have computer privileges. If someone were to step in and disturb that outlet, even if we are sharing too much or being immature, I could see some kind of revolt. Maybe not to the extreme of Little Brother, but there would be some backlash.
ReplyDelete