A SURVEILLANCE SOCIETY- that is what we now live in. Take a look at this scenario:

You wake up and pick up the post. Its full of junk mail addressed to you (where did they get your name and address!?)
You then turn your mobile on, meaning you are able to be tracked wherever you go.
You then drive to the shop, passing cameras as you go, stepping into the shop ypu find yourself faced with three CCTV cameras.

This is the reality of our society today. As Susanne Lace (2005) states, we are all 'glass consumers'. Others know so much about us, that they can almost see through us. Estimates suggest that the details of the average economically active adult in the developed world are located in around 700 major databases (Davies,2002), and know in 2006, there is one CCTV camera for around every fourteen poeple.

We may find this culture of surveillance controversial, as in a society were we believe that we have freedom and privacy, we are actually being watched and scrutinised over everything that we do. Even more scrutiny and surveillance were introduced after the terrorist attacks on 9/11. Personally, as I dont have anything to hide, I dont particularly mind the huge amounts of surveillance, as it is likely that they are helping to protect us, and keep us safe. Take for instance the recent situations at airports where attempts to hijack planes was supposedly thwarted. This was done by the polce keeping a close surveillance over the possible terrorists.

However, the question is, what if somebody objects to all this surveillance? It doesnt mean that they have anything to hide, it just may be that they value their privacy. However, with the worry people have about terrorists these days, would it mean that this person would be branded as suspicious and a possible terrorist etc, just because they valued their privacy? This is very likely.

Surveillance can also be critisised by the fact that although it is there to protect us, the information is not always correct. In 2003, at least 193 job applicants were wrongly accused of having criminal records.

However, surveillance is not umambiguously good or bad. Although it has its critisms, surveillance is what is responsible for: -making sure we are paid correctly
                                      -making sure we recieve appropriate welfare benifits
                                      -ensuring that terrorism is contained
                                      -means we can be warned about risks to our health
                                      -means that we can vote in elections (electoral role)
                                     - means we can pay by card instead of carrying large
                                       sums of money

Most people would regard these accomplishments as contributing positively to the quality of life. Personally, I believe that aslong as we have nothing to hide, surveillance is a good way to protect us. It does jepordise our privacy greatly, but with the world as it is at the minute, maybe we need this extra protection. As long as the government and police are using it to thwart crime, then it can be seen as a good thing, however, it is the risks of other people getting hold of our information that is the problem, and a worry. I supose I seem to be contradicting myself a bit in this paragraph, but it just proves what a controversial area that this is. At first I thought, that if the police tapped into a terrorists phone, then this was good, as they could get important information to stop an attack. But then I thought, well, this persons phone in which they are tapping in to, is a suspected terrorist! No one has proved they are a terrorist, they might just be an innocent bystander who has been wrongly accussed. The police may be tapping into the phone for the right reasons of that they may be able to stop an attack, but if this person turns out to have nothing to do with it, then they have had there privacy hacked into for no reason, and this is unfair!