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1984 Censorship Research Paper

930 Words4 Pages

Not safe anywhere, even in your own thoughts. For Winston and most other citizens in George Orwell’s 1984, this was a sad reality. Censorship has been displayed throughout the novel tremendously, from telescreens watching the public to the police tracking the thoughts of citizens. Censorship is displayed everywhere in different ways; every society is affected by it in one way or another. It is used today in many forms, from schools censoring what students view on laptops, restrictions on what can and cannot be shown on television and privacy when it comes to social media. Schools use censorship more now than ever before. Laptops are seen more and more often, including in school zones. This technology provides a new and easier way to learning …show more content…

While most social media platforms offer ‘privacy’ on accounts, there are still ways to track what is posted. SMMS or social media monitoring software is being used by politicians, law enforcement, federal agencies, defense contractors and the military. The purpose of this software is to track relationships, networks, and associations, it is also useful for monitoring protests and identifying the leaders of political and social movements. Basically, SMMS is a high-tech tool for searching social media for possible emerging threats. While the intent for this software is meant to be good, it is also an invasion of privacy. This software has many similarities to the thought police in 1984. In this book, Winston is having thoughts of rebelling against the party, which is not only dangerous, but punishable by death. The thought police are put into place to monitor the citizens and make sure no citizens have the same thoughts Winston is having. They have access to watch the people of Oceania through their televisions and listen to conversations using microphones placed all around. “There was of course no way of knowing whether you were being watched at any given moment. How often, or on what system, the Thought Police plugged in on any individual wire was guesswork” (Orwell 3). These police can tap into the televisions into any room at any given time, no privacy at

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