Your phone is with you 24 hours a day every day. It goes to the bathroom with you, it sleeps in your room at night, and it’s always listening… always. But no one’s listening in on a high school student body, right? While a 15-year-old watching TV for the hundredth time isn’t something the government particularly cares about, there is a disturbing truth hiding in plain sight that many teenagers are ignorant to. Hovering over the cloud of the internet, the government can spy on whoever they please through methods of surveillance at home, surveillance abroad, and surveillance that hides in your pocket.
Surveillance abroad
Surveillance platforms have been expanding and developing across the globe. While these programs have their benefits – aiding in the arrests of criminals – abuse and malicious behavior have been rising in their presence. In 2011, the Israeli company NSO developed a spyware called Pegasus, which is funded by the U.S. military budget. The original intention behind creating Pegasus was to investigate terrorist and criminal activities. While the spyware has been put to its intended use, it has more frequently been used to target journalists, activists, and virtually anyone who speaks out against the government’s standards and ideas. Not only is Pegasus unconsented surveillance, but it has proven to be legitimately dangerous, as it resulted in the death of Israeli journalist Jamal Khashoggi.
Pegasus has also made its way to America: former FBI director Christopher Wray bought it for the Bureau in 2021. Wray has openly acknowledged the dangers of Pegasus, yet the government continues to utilize the spyware on undeserving U.S. citizens. More than just the States, 45 different countries have implemented the use of Pegasus. While accessing microphones, cameras, and locations, the platform doesn’t leave any footprint that is traceable by the average person, which means if your information gets leaked, you likely won’t even know. Not only can the government access what is on your screen, but they can obtain deleted information, no matter how deeply buried it is. There are two cameras on modern phones that you can be watched from: front and back, at any time of any day or night. Regardless of what you’re doing or where you are, your privacy can be violated.
Surveillance at home
In 2013, Edward Snowden – a renowned whistleblower – introduced the world to the revealing truth of the government’s spyware capabilities. Snowden came forward to the public and shared confidential information about how American citizens are being spied on, even in the safety of their own homes. Snowden’s case and importance have since been forgotten, but the use of spyware on innocent Americans hasn’t changed.
Snapchat, Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, apparently harmless social media apps created for the purpose of connection, have developed an overpoweringly manipulative effect on their users. Imagine yourself watching a short video on a ‘free’ social media app when your viewing is suddenly interrupted by an advertisement that you don’t get the privilege of skipping. Instagram makes money from every ad they throw at you because of the company selling the ads. These companies are then profiting off of your opinions, views, and time. No wonder the app is free, the product being sold is you!
Suicide rates for people aged 15-19 has increased by 57% from 2009 to 2017, and it’s only gone up from there. There are a plethora of reasons for this drastic rise in percentages, one of them being Snapchat dysmorphia. Snapchat dysmorphia is a term that was coined by a British plastic surgeon after multiple patients asked for surgery to make them look like the photo filters offered on Snapchat. Evidently, there is a controlling and brainwashing effect these apps have on young teens’ minds. Social media was created with the intention of keeping your eyes on the screen for as long as possible, because your views liquidate into their revenue. In other words, they’re competing for your attention. A common yet subtle tactic used in this competition is what’s known as nudging.
Surveillance in your pocket
Nudging is the act of social media designers and AI sending notifications and graphics that are specific to your activity – which they monitor – and ultimately keep your eyes glued to the screen. For example, the typing bar when someone is responding to a message manipulates the user into staying on the screen longer. These apps even subtly control the way a user thinks.
When you refresh a social media page, you’ll often see an advertisement or post related to what you were just looking at. The AI that designs your feed tracks you across other apps and adjusts its presentation based on that data. They are watching everything you do, predicting and controlling how you use the app, what you look at, and how long you do it for. The common belief is that someday AI is going to take over the world, but if it’s monitoring everything you do, it already has.
Thankfully, today’s teenagers have an advantage: we are the primary generation that can make a change. We can call out these companies and commit to putting our phones down, boycotting the abuse and brainwashing they want us to submit to. If we want to make a difference and take our world back, we cannot be afraid to stand up for our rights. Let’s fight for what we believe in.
