I think the reading on panopticism has really made me question wether or not I truly do things of my own volition or if I do them because I know somebody is watching me. I think everything foccault said can be translated to our modern society. I think the part that really relates the most is when he described that the fact that the need to keep good behavior doesn’t only come from knowing that you are being watched, but mostly from the idea that there are times when you’re watched and you don’t know by who or when. The idea of not knowing causes an anxiety that paralyzes bad behavior. I think this concept is heavily prevalent in the professional world of jobs and even post secondary education. I think we limit a lot of our behavior outside of work for the fear of keeping our jobs or maintaining an image because you truly never know who is watching. I think at work when you’re in the midst of your job and you know who’s watching doesn’t really affect your life. Its work, its normal, and you know exactly what you can do when. When you leave work, one would think the surveillance diminishes, but instead it just turns into you not knowing who can see you where and what they’re willing to report back to your job with. I think this constant surveillance begs the question is my free time really my own if my behavior is limited by what my place of employment might think. I personally live by the code that what you do in your free time is yours as long as the job gets done. For example, if a student goes out every weekend but still makes straight As, attends internships, volunteers I don’t think anybody should be looking at what they do in their free time as an indicator of what they’re able to accomplish in life. I think the fear of people seeing and watching you and judging you based off engaging in certain behavior keeps a lot of people from trying new things and actually being themselves.
