The Psychological Effects of Living in a Surveillance Society

A Surveillance Society is a residential setting where surveillance technology is widely and extensively used to monitor the day-to-day activities of the people living there. In a world, where information technology has gained widespread accessibility and affordability, the need and ways of recording the lives of people have become handy. The use of CCTV cameras, ‘dashcams’, drones, and high-tech detectors has eased the process of regulating this purpose, and ultimately, making it organized and monitored.

Every individual deserves privacy to conduct their behaviours. This surveillance in societies often tends to breach the personal boundaries of its residents and binds them to follow the rules and restrictions, that result from surveillance guidelines.

According to Rehabilitation Psychologist Mansi Sharma, Constant monitoring can make individuals feel like they are always being watched, leading to a loss of anonymity. This can affect how freely people express themselves and behave in public and private spaces. Knowing that their actions are being monitored, people might alter their behaviour to conform to societal norms or avoid scrutiny, leading to less authentic interactions and self-expression. Surveillance can create a sense of restriction, making people feel they have less control over their personal information and movements. This can stifle creativity, innovation, and free speech. Pervasive surveillance can lead to a decline in trust between citizens and institutions, as individuals may feel that their privacy is being invaded without just cause or transparency.

In this context, it should be mentioned that Surveillance societies have become a trend in the world today, and are also subjected to trans-disciplinary studies to modify its implications, increase its benefits and wipe out the complaints faced by it, in due course of their practice. Living under surveillance has become a necessity due to the increase in the rates of crimes like theft, and murder, or practices like drug dealing, violence, and indecent behaviour that violates the code of law.

These practices not only corrupt the atmosphere of a society but also pose threats to the healthy physical and emotional development of the people living in it, even across generations. The main agenda behind the installation of surveillance systems was to ensure the scrutiny of social and decent behaviour and to ensure the safety and security of families, however, with passing time, the same agenda has come to produce a lot of negative effects on the psychological well-being of its people.

According to Mansi, The constant awareness of being watched can cause stress and anxiety, impacting mental health. People might feel perpetually judged or scrutinized, leading to paranoia or heightened stress levels. Fear of data breaches or misuse of personal information can make people wary of sharing information, affecting their participation in digital and public life. Surveillance can blur the lines between public and private spaces, making individuals feel that their personal space is no longer their own, which can be intrusive and unsettling. The fear of surveillance can deter people from engaging in activities that they perceive as being monitored, such as political activism, controversial discussions, or other forms of dissent.

Psychological Impact of Surveillance Society

• Hypervigilance to stress and anxiety: Constant monitoring of regular activities by the society’s surveillance system creates a sense of uneasiness, leading to increased anxiety and stress levels.
• Stepping off the boundaries of Privacy: It refers to the feeling that one’s personal life is being watched, which in turn leads to a sense of vulnerability and erosion of privacy.
• Developing signs of paranoia and sense of mistrust: Regular Surveillance can foster a sense of paranoia accompanied by feelings of suspicion, leading individuals to become more conscious and mistrustful of others.
• Conformity and self-Censorship: It is often observed that after living in surveillance societies for a long time, people may adjust their behaviour, moulding it differently from their sense of self, to avoid scrutiny, leading to conformity to the social norms and regulations of the society, including self-censorship.
• Decline in creativity and freedom: Increased surveillance can hinder one’s imagination and freedom, by inhibiting their decisiveness, self-expressiveness, exploration of ideas and taking up activities out of the curriculum as deemed ‘allowed’ by the society.
• Increased sense of powerlessness: Martin Seligman conceptualized Powerlessness as a learned attribute, i.e., the consequence of social learning and reinforcement. Being constantly monitored in society can boost a sense of powerlessness and lack of control over one’s life.
• Lack of trust in institutions: Over-surveillance can lead to a decline in trust in institutions and authorities. In the long run, it may cause people to believe that social institutions are meant to barge into the personal space of people under the guise of surveillance systems and restrictions.
• Psychological trauma: For some individuals, especially those who have experienced trauma, like domestic or sexual abuse, stalking or post-traumatic stress; surveillance can trigger or exacerbate their symptoms due to an increased sense of fear, of being watched.
• Changes in Social Dynamics: Surveillance can alter social interactions, and the nature of relationships among people, which could be between friends, couples, or neighbours, leading to a sense of disconnection and isolation among them
• Normalization of Surveillance: Prolonged exposure to surveillance can lead to its normalization, making its effects and barging into personal space, seem acceptable or even desirable.

“The fear and uncertainty generated by surveillance inhibit activity more than any action by the police.”

People might feel that their privacy rights are being compromised, raising ethical and legal questions about the balance between security and individual freedoms. Surveillance can affect personal relationships, as people might become more guarded or suspicious of each other, fearing that their communications and interactions are being monitored. Overall, living in a surveillance society can lead to a pervasive sense of vulnerability and a diminished sense of personal freedom, fundamentally altering how people live and interact with each other, says Mansi.

Nevertheless, to mention, the impact of surveillance on the minds of people depends on the context of the situation, extensively: Chisholm explained that a baby rat being watched by its mother will feel comforted and safe. But, a baby rat being watched by a predator would feel stressed and threatened.