People behave differently when they are being watched. Surveillance has been shown to increase conformity to social norms and raise stress and anxiety. As surveillance by corporations and the government continues to expand into more and more areas of our lives, we may find ourselves living in a society where no one is willing to challenge the status quo.
The feeling of being watched has a profound effect on human psychology. This effect can be produced even by the mere image of an eye. In one experiment, researchers attached posters above an honesty box next to a station with a kettle, coffee, tea and milk. Employees were expected to deposit money in the honesty box when they made a drink. Each week for 10 weeks, researchers alternated the poster: One poster depicted an eye, and the other a flower. The researchers found that the money in the honesty box significantly increased during the weeks when the eye was posted.
Research by Neil M. Richards and Costas Panagopoulos suggests that a greater awareness of surveillance leads to more norm-compliant behavior. Panagopoulos investigates voter turnout and the effect that surveillance has on people’s likelihood to vote. He finds that when people know that they are being monitored, they are more likely to vote because voting is a social expectation. Panagopoulos says that surveillance pressures people to conform to societal norms of all kinds. He states, “Public visibility, or surveillance, increases the likelihood of norm-compliant behavior and applies social pressure that impels individuals to act.” If people know that they are being monitored, and that their behavior is being analyzed, they will be compelled to adhere more strictly to expectations.
In his own research, Neil M. Richards also reaches Panagopoulos’ finding that surveillance leads to norm-compliant behavior, and expands that finding to suggest that it puts restraints on the thought processes of those being monitored. He writes, “When we are watched while engaging in intellectual activities, broadly defined—thinking, reading, web-surfing, or private communications—we are deterred from engaging in thoughts or deeds that others might find deviant.” When being observed, people will choose to censor the material they view in order to avoid arousing the suspicion of others. Both Panagopoulos and Richards suggest that surveillance acts as a restraint on behavior, pressuring people into conforming to societal norms.
Conformity is already known to be a potent influence on people’s behavior. Surveillance magnifies the power of conformity by expanding the feeling of being judged into nearly every aspect of a person’s private life. This not only has political repercussions like causing people to avoid considering dissident opinions or refraining from involvement in political movements, but it also has larger societal ramifications like reinforcing social stigmas and making it less likely for people to challenge the status quo.
When people are aware that they are being watched, it not only affects their behavior, but it also has a strong influence on their mental state. As surveillance capabilities expand, some companies are using this technology to monitor their employees’ productivity. Research by M.J. Smith finds that monitored employees found their jobs to be “more stressful, and reported higher levels of job boredom, psychological tension, anxiety, depression, anger, health complaints and fatigue.” It puts a lot of pressure on a person to know that their every move is being watched.
Surveillance creates an environment in which everyone is much more mindful that their actions may illicit unwanted attention. PEN America, a non-profit organization devoted to the freedom of expression, conducted a survey that found that 16 percent of PEN members are self-censoring due to the fear of NSA surveillance. Almost a quarter said they avoid certain topics during phone and email conversations. Thoughts and reports are going unspoken because journalists fear possible retribution facilitated by the surveillance apparatus. This effect is not only limited to journalists: As Al Jazeera writer Jillian C. York points out, surveillance is known to produce the “creation of a culture of self-censorship.”
When people are watched, they not only conform more strictly to societal norms, censor themselves and become anxious and stressed; they also become more judgmental about the actions of other people, and are more likely to condemn behavior that is perceived to be outside social norms. This means that surveillance not only places everyone under the watchful eyes of cameras, but also turns peers into behavior monitors.
Surveillance is expanding at an alarming rate, and it is not even remotely confined to the NSA. As surveillance technology continues to become less expensive and more accessible, companies, schools, advertisers and countless other entities are taking advantage of behavior-monitoring to further their own goals. You may feel as though you have nothing to hide and are immune to the behavioral effects of surveillance, but nevertheless you will be watched. At Gig Harbor High School in Washington, officials saw two girls kissing and holding hands. They showed the girls’ parents and one of the girls was subsequently removed from the school. Surveillance can target any behavior, and you do not need to be a terrorist to be wary of being monitored 24/7.
Jason Roche is a Collegian columnist and can be reached at [email protected].
