When Safety Starts Watching Me

Countless times, while having a discussion with some friends, maybe on WhatsApp, and then I suddenly check on Chrome or scroll through YouTube, I have noticed that some of those conversations usually pop up as ads, and that is to show that a part of my life is being watched or monitored without me even knowing.
I have seen how some people say that they have full privacy of everything, but to be honest, I doubt that because it is a very complicated matter. From switching on our locations to the call and text messages we make daily, when I look at this with the advanced level of technology we now have today, it always looks like something or someone somewhere is seeing what I cannot see and listening to everything. Now let's imagine giving all those things out completely just because we want to feel so safe.

Yes, at first, that idea looks so good and great because it kind of takes away fear. It might give zero room for crime and no danger that is not expected, and it alerts help all the time. In my country, where the zero level is almost at zero, if not even zero, I think if this idea is presented to people, a lot of them might accept it without thinking twice, and they will always see it as something good and a fair trade. But when I look at this and the movies I have watched that look familiar with this topic, there is always something fishy at the end of the day.

Personally, I am always of the belief that I always have this freedom when I know that what I am thinking belongs to me. From what I send to my friends to what we say. You know, all those private and intimate moments with my loved one and even the things that are bothering me that I searched online in the dead of the night when I am feeling restless. To be honest, those little parts of me and things I do matter to me more than I can admit.

And when I know that someone is watching or listening to everything I say or watch, definitely, something might change inside of me; I know that. And by that time, I will start to censor and be more filtering with everything I do. I will always think multiple times before doing anything and expressing myself, and that will increase my level of carefulness both within and without. Though I know that if everything is being monitored, there might be safety, but it will always come at a cost.

I can recall back then in elementary school, I was told by my teacher then to always respect the authority above me and to also value dignity. And now that I have known my left from right, what I do know is that dignity in this case also means having a safe space to myself where I am not being monitored like a suspect.

And to be honest, without the situation of things, I do not believe that because of fear or insecurity I should now give up that part of my life because of that. Because what I know is that if I give up that part of my life, I am not totally free, and it will always look like I am in a cage. And I am not sure that because I want to feel protected I should now give away that part of my life completely.

Thank you for reading.

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