From Big Brother to the Digital Panopticon: Media, Surveillance, and Power in Orwell’s 1984

Abstract

This paper examines the continued relevance of George Orwell’s 1984 by analyzing how contemporary digital technologies operate as tools of social and political control. Governments, corporations, and online platforms increasingly employ surveillance systems to monitor and influence individual behavior, reflecting the totalitarian mechanisms depicted in Oceania. Through close textual analysis, the study explores Orwell’s representation of truth manipulation and linguistic control through Newspeak, relating these strategies to modern practices such as algorithmic governance and data surveillance. Drawing on Michel Foucault’s theories of power and panopticism, the research explores how technological mediation reshapes privacy, autonomy, and social relations. The findings suggest that digital media normalize a culture of constant observation and subtle control. By situating Orwell’s vision within a Foucauldian framework, the paper contributes to media studies and calls for a critical reassessment of data ethics and digital freedom.