The Panopticon of Communications Technologies

We are always being watched, but we never know when that is.

The Panopticon is a type of prison allowing an observer to observe prisoners without them being able to tell whether they are being watched. This method works very well because the prisoners are always worried about being watched, even if nobody is at all. The use of the Citizen's Band radio is a great example of how the concept of the Panopticon can be used in more ways than just watching prisoners.



The CB is a system of short-distance radio communications between individuals. It was a great way for truckers, policeman and citizens alike to share information with each other over a distance. At first everyone glorified the CB as the "communications medium of the silent majority, who were now given the opportunity to speak their mind" (Parker). People were now able to have a two-way method of commuication where they weren't just the listeners. They could respond and share their opinions. It gave the power back to the people to create their own culture. CB's were also easy to access because they had relatively low prices, and were free once you bought the system.

Although the CB was a great tool for communications, it was also used negatively by individuals. There were certain regulations that were placed on the CB: firstly, there were 23 channels, and only 10-15 and 23 were open for those communications under the same license; second, conversations were not allowed to be longer than 5 minutes; third, there was no chit chatting, you could only communicate vital information. Many people abused these regulations and even went further as to use the CB illegally. Truckers would use the CB to communicate with each other on where they can avoid policeman so that they could break speed limits. Also, even citizens could use the CB to send the police false information. The FCC had to step in to create new regulations on the CB to try and stop all the illegal actions. They created fines against CB abusers, and also introduced an automatic transmitter regulation system that would send out a signal identifying the sender of each transmission. Now people were being surveyed, and every transmission was being watched. The transmitters could not tell that people were watching them, or even if every transmission was being watched. People had to be careful because they knew that there could be a chance of them being caught.

Here is a video example of how the CB regulations were put into effect:



Although the CB is a great communications tool that people could use as their voice in society, it just became a place where people's free speech was being masked by a constant big brother watching over to make sure that they didn't break the rules. By taking part in CB communications, "citizens were given the freedom to ensure their own participation in the very same surveillance network used to monitor them" (Parker). If people want to use the CB, then they have to know that they are going to be watched, even if they do not know when.

- Chelsea Schonberg