Critical Essay on Technology in George Orwell's '1984'

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Critical Essay on Technology in George Orwell’s ‘1984’

Power is in tearing human minds to pieces and putting them together again in new shapes of your own choosing (Orwell).

According to an overview fact sheet released in 2014 by Freedom House, out of all one-hundred ninety-five countries in the world, eighty-eight countries are free, fifty-nine countries are partly free, and unfortunately, forty-eight countries are not free. Considering that twenty-five percent of countries in the world are under the control of an individual or a group, George Orwell rightfully foreshadows the way governments would manipulate citizens with the use of technology.

Eric Arthur Blair, also known as George Orwell, published his last novel titled 1984 in 1949. In the novel, Orwell creates an imaginary state which is under the control of a powerful government. The novel informs the readers that if a government becomes too powerful, individuals will suffer by living in a world where one does not have the freedom to think, act, or question. 1984 promotes skepticism and ideas about government actions, such as promoting the idea that any government may be in a process of gaining control of citizens and influencing what one might hear and see. This is one of the reasons why the novel has been banned many times, which is a bit disappointing because people are naive and unaware of what is currently happening in todays society. Orwell’s motive for the publication of 1984 was to alert future generations that power has the ability to turn a world upside down in a heartbeat. Although this book might be overwhelming, it is filled with many incredible, powerful ideas and meaningful themes.

As previously mentioned, 1984 contains many important topics that the masses of people are unconscious about. Technology is one important theme that human minds are unable to escape from due to the opinion that we are living in George Orwell’s envisioned society involved with digital screens. In the novel, people live in fear of telescreens. The telescreens left everyone, especially the middle class, without any privacy in life. This is because the telescreens were being controlled by the Inner Party very strictly day and night. The volume of the telescreens was able to be lowered but was not able to be shut off, which was very frustrating. The telescreens were continually being broadcasted fake news and propaganda that left no other choice but to manipulate the masses into believing the government was effective and efficient. This left citizens without the willpower to express any ideas of rebellion against the Party. The purpose of technology in Orwell’s world was for the Party to have the ability to hear every word citizens were saying and watch everything they were doing. This was an evil way of manipulating and controlling citizens by the government solely for power. One should not need to be watched and listened to without his/ her consent anywhere, especially in ones own private property. That is simply, pure freedom removed from individuals.

Unlike the society depicted in 1984, todays society is not afraid of technology. According to data released by Business Insider, by the end of 2020, about seventy-five percent of the global population will be connected by mobile phones, proving that technology is everywhere. Every second, numerous amounts of people are signing up and using social media to share their lives. Although some may think they are only sharing their life with their friends, that is not necessarily true. According to an article published by The Guardian, a user loses complete privacy once he/she has granted an app access to their camera and microphone. The app can now access the camera, record an individual anytime the app is opened, take pictures of the phone user, and use real-time face recognition to detect facial expressions and features. Many individuals dont believe that technology is spying on users, but 1984 is becoming reality. That time has come and yet individuals are still unaware of their private life is in the eyes of others who want to control the masses.

For example, China has recently introduced facial recognition technology that pedestrians are unfortunately unaware of. China has spent a great amount of money on creating the largest, most powerful facial recognition system in the world. The reason for this is that China’s government wants to be able to identify any of the 1.4 billion citizens in every city and predict who might become a threat to society. According to Fortune magazine, China claims that surveillance is only being used for the sake of locating missing people and identifying suspects, which is understandable, but many alert people believe it’s more than that. Over the past few years, China has blocked Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and other websites, such as Wikipedia, and replaced those worldwide apps with apps that can be monitored by the government. China is manipulating citizens into thinking that they are living their best lives, although, in reality, China is using this invasive technology to maximize power. The goal of their government is to create a forceful grasp on society that will make it difficult for people to plan any rebellious action against their own government, which is very similar to Orwells envisioned state. This internet censorship is spreading very rapidly to other countries such as Vietnam, Ethiopia, and Tanzania. If people don’t become aware of government actions taking place in society, they will soon be under the command of terrifying leaders and have no freedom.

In conclusion, the society we live in today is discreetly being manipulated by the government’s involvement with invasive technology just like Orwell envisioned. Published decades ago, ‘1984’ was a huge warning to people about how any government can manipulate people in multiple ways for the sake of power. Generation after generation, people were not alerted about the government’s goal to grasp control over citizens until it was unfortunately too late. By being so ignorant, the individuality of human beings has been handed over to the government which is being used for power. People are now powerless and are in the eyes and ears of a very powerful government.

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