George Orwell was a prophet as he wrote his novel 1984. He imagined a world where Big Brother was everywhere and saw everything. Nothing was hidden from his eyes and ears; he could even read the mind of people. Fear was his tool, to rule over everyone. In the novel telescreens, hidden microphones, the Thought Police, and informants make privacy impossible. The phrase “Big Brother is watching you” embodies total surveillance. Big Brother is not just a character—he is the face of absolute totalitarian power, the ultimate warning about what happens when a government (or any institution) achieves total control over truth, language, history, and thought itself.
George Orwell’s 1984, published in 1949, is a dystopian novel set in a future totalitarian state called Oceania. It follows Winston Smith, who works rewriting history for the Party, as he secretly rebels against a regime that persecutes individual thought, monitors every move with telescreens, and enforces loyalty to Big Brother.
The sad truth is that we are very close to the world of ‘Big Brother’. We need to take steps today and protect our personal data. We know about the corporate data collection through Google, Meta or Facebook. In cities, shopping malls, public transportation, airports Artificial Intelligence controlled systems are watching over citizens constantly. Our phone caries so much about our everyday lives, habits, photos, location and chats. We are tracked, monitored, and analysed throughout the whole year constantly.
This type of monitoring does not just change what you do; it changes who you become. The most effective surveillance is the kind you eventually do to yourself. That is exactly what terrified Orwell. People self-censor ideas, jokes, political opinions, or even curiosity the moment they know they’re watched. When every action is tracked and scored, people stop doing things for their own sake. Fear creeps in and with that inner life atrophies, relationships break, creativity disappears, and one may never take the risk to think critically and have original thoughts. Orwell wanted to remind his readers that independent thoughts, memory and moral responsibility matter – even in the face of overwhelming power.
Orwell’s Big Brother used fear and visible force. Today’s version is quieter and more seductive: convenience, “personalisation,” free services, and safety. You consent (often without reading the fine print) or it happens by default. The result is similar though: eroded privacy, self-censorship, chilled speech, and a world where “nothing was hidden.” People start modifying behaviour because they know they’re watched — exactly the self-policing Orwell feared.
I don’t want to live a life like that! I want to do what I can. Learn to protect my personal life with a phone which helps me to take control over my personal data. I can limit the data I share publicly, think before posting, and keep sensitive information out of social profiles. And if fear tries to drive me into passivity, I will respond with deliberate, informed choices and cultivate the inner life that no algorithm can quantify.
