Big Brother is Watching. Should we?

I.

In Orwell's 1984, we are warned of a future where people are constantly exposed to the scrutiny of the ever watchful Big Brother, a system so repressive and oppressive that the mere thought against it is a crime.

For almost a decade now, the term "Big Brother" has entered pop culture as a hit reality TV franchise known all over the world for its hyper-realistic presentation of human drama. The premise is loosely based on Orwell's dystopian future. Strangers are forced to co-habit a common space for a period of time under the watchful eye of Big Brother. Whoever survives this living condition the longest wins the prize.

What was once a cautionary tale of excessive governance has now entered our imagination as a form of entertainment. We no longer fear "Big Brother"; in fact, we have become part of the system, our TV sets glued to Big Brother's eye, become one with Big Brother, ever watchful, ever critical, ever seeing.

Big Brother is watching. We are watching. We are Big Brother.

II.

Quite recently, the new season of a Big Brother spin-off has introduced us to a new concept: "PBB Teen". Stemming from the show "PBB Teens", to be a "PBB Teen" is widely understood as to be an immature person who makes juvenile decisions and mostly makes exaggerated reactions to the simplest problems. It can also mean someone who falls irrevocably in love, depending on context. A "PBB Teen", basically, is someone that even teenagers--in their immaturity-- look down on as an embarrassment to their generation.

In short, "A Pinoy Big Brother Teen" is someone who probably has no idea of how "Big Brother" is a reference to Orwellian dystopia.

From a strong criticism of the government overextending its will and domain, "Big Brother" in its Philippine context has become its polar opposite: a launching pad for careers of people who really, really, really want to be watched all the time. In an ironic turn of events, Orwell's warning against being too closely watched has become an opportunity to be ever present in the public's eye.

"Big Brother" is no longer a warning; "Big Brother" is now an invitation. An invitation to live your life under the ever watchful eye of the people, to subject your life to public scrutiny, to surrender your privacy and become the state's property.

Oh, how our values have changed. Where once we used to value our individuality, our right to think freely and stand up for our beliefs, we now value being used as a commodity.

III.

Once, we had an aquarium in our home. We filled it with goldfishes. Fishes that did nothing but swam all day, lay eggs, eat, shit, and die. They lived their existence solely to entertain the household.

I guess some people would do anything for the attention. Even live in a fishbowl.

Not surprisingly, we have turned our world into one big fishbowl. You think tweeting about your lunch, or posting a Facebook status about your weekend plans mean nothing. But the truth is, every single thing we share on social media is being monitored by brands. Analytic tools are so powerful that geo-tagging is now an inherent features in apps. When you Tweetpic a photo of your lunch, this is most of the information you make public: the model of the phone you are using, the location where the photo was sent from, the time, the date, the food item, the name of the restaurant, your mobile network provider, etc. How can this information be used against you? By providing marketers this information, you grant them data on how to further control your thought process. The more information is being sent by people "digitally socializing", the more data we can use to effectively target you. Next time we want you to buy baked fish, we'll know where to place the ads, we'll know what time to blast you with the message, we know which network to tap to reach you, we'll know where you usually eat your lunch.

Think about it. Big Brother is still watching. And we're letting him.