There can't be a much bigger and modern example of Panopticism than Facebook. "A state of conscious and permanent visibility" makes us continuously self regulate. Users regularly get caught on camera with unflattering poses / intoxicated or pictures we just don't like so people will quickly de-tag to make themselves appear more socially normal and acceptable. We are aware we can be monitored at anytime but unaware of who it is at any given time: “He is seen, but he does not see; he is the object of information”
"Regulation into even the smallest of details" is something a user always considers - whether or not they are sharing too much information with the public and regulating what they wish to be common knowledge.
We have become a nation of 'docile bodies' and it seems to be becoming an instilled human concept now (especially here in British society) that we are continously watched and never want to be caught in compromising situations although we enjoy seeing it of others "inscribing the power of regulation in which they simultaneously plays both roles". People 'spying' or viewing profiles hold the power of both the observer and the observed and we are seeing that society is becoming self-regulated. We don't want to be seen to be bad mouthing anyone as it has a way of getting back to the source so we always have to consider how we behave online as someone somewhere is always watching 'subjected to a field of visibility, and who know it, assume responsibility for the constraints of power', people talk and I think the saying 'walls have ears' should be updated to 'walls have eyes' as you never know who's keeping an eye on you. It is rather worrying - why are people watching me? What information are they obtaining from me? What do they do with the data / information they 'collect' from people and why?
'Panopticism' in Thomas, J. (2000) 'Reading Images', NY, Palgrave McMillan.
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