I know where you are and I saw what you did
By savak03
@savak03 (6684)
United States
January 2, 2012 5:58pm CST
I was just checking out a website that another member here talked about and it got me to thinking. This particular website apparently has the ability to pinpoint where you are when you access their site. Another mylotter said it pinpointed her exactly. For me, not so close but it did get the right state and the right section of the state. In fact it was only about 50 miles out.
When I was in school there was a book that we had to read called 1984. For those of you who haven't read it the story was about the future when the government would keep tabs on all of its citizens through the television. At that time you couldn't turn your TV off and it didn't just bring programing into your house but recorded everything you said and did, too. I think there were other recording devices too that covered areas where the TV was not feasible. When the year 1984 came and went without anything like that happening we all laughed at the thought that governments would even do that.
Now, however, we have GPS devices to find our way and Lojacks on our cars to find them when they are stolen. They are advertising a device that is injected under the skin of your pet so they can be tracked and the laptop that my daughter rented has a program that allows the company to locate it in case she runs off without paying for it.
So, I ask you, do you think Big Brother is watching?
7 people like this
21 responses
@GardenGerty (160663)
• United States
3 Jan 12
Yes, In the Year of our Ford, Big Brother gained the ability to watch us. I am on another site that I temporarily left due to the fact that I understood it could track us. I am not sure if it is the same one you are talking about, I will have to check the discussions, I have been napping. I believe that we are being watched and monitored a lot more than we believe we are, and I am very glad that I am not up to date on all the electronic stuff that is available.
1 person likes this
@GardenGerty (160663)
• United States
3 Jan 12
Some or all of the locations in my new job are video and audio recorded because I work with vulnerable adults. I believe they only review the tapes in the case of suspected abuse and neglect. This is okay with me. I do not believe that all the watching in our society is so benign however. I do not believe that all watchers have accountability to someone higher.
1 person likes this
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
3 Jan 12
Just about all businesses have video surveillance now. Some of them work better than others. Some are used to protect people but most are used to catch thieves. I agree with you though, GardenGerty that not all surveillance is benign.
stowyk if you catch them doing something they shouldn't you'll let me know, right?
@mayka123 (16605)
• India
3 Jan 12
In 1984 I believed that there is one one BIG BROTHER up there watching over us and knowing everything we did. I knew he was keeping tabs on everything I did. But now it seems we could be having other kind of Big Brothers all around knowing what we are doing every step of our way. Yes there will be a time when everything we do can be tracked.
1 person likes this
@bellis716 (4799)
• United States
3 Jan 12
I'm old enough that I don't care if Big Brother watches me. In fact, It just might be a good thing in case I develop Alzheimer's and wander off somewhere.
1 person likes this
@ronnyb (6113)
• Jamaica
3 Jan 12
Yes I think Big Brother is watching because the technology makes it capable .Right now at any point in time there are thousand of "satellite eyes" watching us at any point .And the ironic thing is that the eyes are in seemingly innocent devices like out phones .I mean there are websites now that can tell you where your blackberry phones are with alarming accuracy .So yes I think Big Brother is watching
1 person likes this
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
3 Jan 12
Yes, indeed. Almost every electronic device has some way to track it now. The ones in cell phones started out because 911 calls could not be traced when the victim was incapacitated. From there the idea just mushroomed to include all kind of devices. It was a good idea but I fear it will be misused.
@Robswife2006 (1208)
• United States
3 Jan 12
Not only watching but listening as well. With all the technology that there is out there today there is no doubt in my mind that they are. Now I have no problem with this if it in any way prevents another 9/11 from happening. As long as we have nothing to hide we have nothing to worry about, but still even knowing that makes it just a little scarey knowing that someone, somewhere is watching your every move & that at any given moment they can make you disappear if they wanted to is more then just little frighting. This reminds me of a movie starring Sandra Bullock called "The Net". Have you ever seen it? If not then you really need to rent this movie. It is a suspense thriller, but in my opinion it was more then a little scarey too to see what anyone could do to you & your life with just a little modern technology.
1 person likes this
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
3 Jan 12
I am a die hard sci fi fanatic so yes I have indeed seen the net. It is amazing what can be done to our lives with just a few keystrokes. I really believe we could be virtually wiped from the earth this way. Our identity means nothing if someone with a computer decides we don;t exist.
But what makes you think that this kind of surveillance will prevent things like 911? They didn't invent all these things after that happened. They already had them and was using them but no one paid any attention to the clues that would lead them to prevent this horror.
Also, any time the good guys come up with a way to make our lives more secure there is some bad guy out there figuring out how to get around it.
1 person likes this
@balo2000plus (3)
•
3 Jan 12
we can not terrorism,we can only minimize it. Some are devil instrument and they are ready to destroy the peace of the people. the 9/11 is a big reason while all nation should be at alert to watch and prevent the devil so "terrorist".
@blademaiden (734)
• Romania
29 Aug 12
I don't think people will ever fight against this. They invest much more energy in deceiving themselves we leave in a good world, where technology makes our life easier. Fakeness will be more fake and people will be born soulless.
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
29 Aug 12
I do believe you are right. Most people will just stick their head in the sand and think that everything will be alright. Those of us who know better don't have the power to make any changes, so we will just have to wait for the other shoe to drop.
Already, I am having to drive without a drivers license. Not because I broke some law but because I can't prove my identity. But I think I will save the details about that for a separate discussion.
@Hatley (163776)
• Garden Grove, California
3 Jan 12
hi savak I think big brother only watches crooks and bad guys in order to keep order in our communities. did you know that there was a scary movie about two teen girls who were making random phone calls telling the other person on the other end of the phone" I know where you are and I saw what you did" just for fun,not thinking
they could get into trouble. but they called the wrong guy who had just murdered his wife, and this murderer traced the girls phone and almost killed them before the detective got to him and stopped him.
the na me of the movie was "I know where you are,and I know what you did" just one word was different. a scary story well acted too. this was a number of years back too
@girl_thinking (1959)
• Philippines
4 Jan 12
Ha! Reminded me of I know what you did last summer. But that story has a totally different plot. I think this one is scarier. Girls just trying to have fun, but they put themselves into great danger
@mysticmaggie (2498)
• United States
4 Jan 12
To add to your list...children can also have a tracking device put under their skin in case they are kidnapped, etc. The NorthStar unit in your pretty new car is a tracking device that could be used by Uncle Sam. For a couple of years I've heard rumors that the government is trying to implant the tracking devices in all newborns. That is considered 'the mark of the devil' foretold in the Bible by some.
Tracking devices are being considered by your credit card companies. In other words, soon you will not be able to disappear for any reason. Gives me the willies just thinking about it.
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
4 Jan 12
It actually gives me the willies, too. However I do not think I will quit using my cell phone and other things. Maybe if the times get so bad like the book I mentioned and I really need to disappear I will give them up then along with electricity and running water. I have lived without these kinds of conveniences before and although it would be more difficult now that I am older I feel I could adapt.
@mysticmaggie (2498)
• United States
4 Jan 12
Oh, by the way. When you take pictures with your cell phone, you can be traced by others who receive that picture. If you have a computer, phone, GPS or any other similar item, you are not alone. Big Brother is definitely watching.
@MaryLynn321 (2680)
• United States
3 Jan 12
I would definitely say it is a very good possibility. I think they can get into things we don't even know that they can get into. And we won't know about it until they decide they want people to know.
I don't think our lives are as private as they once were.
Think about it. There are hackers that can get into our computers. So what makes anyone think that the government can't do the same thing.
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
3 Jan 12
Exactly, the government and the criminals are in a race to see who is smartest. It is kind of like the USA and Russia being in a race to see who could make the most weapons. Those of you in my generation remember that one right?
Our lives are not private at all anymore.
1 person likes this
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
3 Jan 12
It's not right but still it is being done. Some countries are making more use of this than others. Some countries are more repressive than others. But just because you don't see it happening so much where you are doesn't mean the potential for it is not there. We cannot keep putting our heads in the sand. We cannot forget for a moment that nothing is private. like your sister we have to be careful what we say out loud. So far I think our thoughts are private but there may come a day when they can access them too.
1 person likes this
@MaryLynn321 (2680)
• United States
3 Jan 12
Exactly, I remember when the USA and Russia were in a race to see who could get where in space first. Plus the arms races, etc.
It is sad but true that are lives are not private anymore.
I remember my sister telling me that she was chatting with someone over seas on the internet and that they had to watch everything they said to each other. As what they put on the internet can stay on their computers. And if the government wanted to know what they were talking about all they would have to come into their homes and go through there computers.
That was quite shocking for me when she told me that. It is just not right.
@jaiho2009 (39141)
• Philippines
3 Jan 12
Aha, I thought of the movie "i know what you did last summer"
Or yes, maybe Big Brother is watching (duh!)
And everyone is not aware .
I hope there's no spy camera roaming in the bathroom
@picjim (3002)
• India
3 Jan 12
Definitely they can keep track or find out approximately our location.This sort of gives me the creeps.It isn't very comforting to know that someone is prying on our privacy.I am all for technology but for an ordinary law abiding citizen to have each and every movement of his tracked sends a shudder down the spine.Those who are a menace to society and are an impediment to its progress can be tracked and found out to minimize the harm they can do to society at large but for others i must say not a very comforting thing to happen.
1 person likes this
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
3 Jan 12
Of course they are watching us. There are surveillance cameras just about everywhere now. All our cellphones have GPS, and even when we "disable" it they can still track it. There are many vehicles now that have "On-Star" built into them, and again, even if you do not pay for it, consciously use it or ask for it to be disabled, do you really think that it is and they are not able to track you?
They are even now trying to track our children and their learning progress. My little one got one of the LeapFrog learning systems for Christmas, and she got an extra set of books with it. I had to go online and register, give them a bunch of information about her and myself and download the audio for the books for them to work with the system, even though she had the physical books and they were paid for. They say that it is to help us parents track our children's progress, but if that were the case, then I would not have to do it for the books to work with the system, especially since I can track her progress just fine without their help.
@saundyl (9783)
• Canada
3 Jan 12
With onstar...I've heard even if you dont subscribe to it the vehicle will notify onstar of an accident.
I had a friend who did subscribe to it...and she backed into her garbage bin on the street and onstar was all gungho to be sending out an ambulance for her when she was telling them she was fine she just knocked over her garbage bin.
1 person likes this
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
3 Jan 12
I think you are right to be suspicious. Nearly everything we buy now a days has to be registered. Or at least they tell us that. In the case of your leapfrog books you were kind of stuck. I usually ignore most of those registrations though because the only thing I see happening is I end up on a lot of new mailing lists. Usually the things I buy last way past their warrantee period anyway so why register them. I bought a 30.00 printer a few weeks ago to temporarily replace the one I had that lasted for five years. When I do taxes I will buy me another one with all the bells and whistles and then I will retire this one so why register it?
1 person likes this
@purplealabaster (22091)
• United States
3 Jan 12
Savak - I do not register anything that I absolutely do not have to register, either. With the LeapFrog books, I was as vague as possible and did not give her real name or birthday, because I didn't think they needed to know that information. I did have to give my name and e-mail, especially since the only way to get the audio for the stupid thing to work was to do that, and it was already paid for not to mention it was relatively expensive. Plus, if I have to re-download anything, then I have to sign into the account again ... also if she gets any more books it would be the same thing. Still, I was angry that I did not have a "choice" if she was going to use them.
Saundyl - I know somebody that did not even realize that he had On-Star, especially since he had bought a used vehicle. Then one day someone started talking to him, and he couldn't figure out who was talking as there was nobody else in the vehicle and he did not have the radio on. It was then that he realized that it was the On-Star, and he had triggered it by driving off-road to pull someone out of the ditch ... apparently the combination registered that he might have had an accident and they were trying to make sure he was alright.
@CTHanum (8234)
• Malaysia
5 Jan 12
It looks really like the movies Dejavu and Eagle eye where they got some kind of technology tracking people no matter where they are and they can traced what we did in past time. A little scary when everything we did and we do know or perhaps have no idea others are watching us closely~ I think if we have such technology the government would never tell us that they have one as they concern about what people might think about spying their life. I personally don't like it anyway. I don't want others to watch me 24/7~ Where is my privacy if its so???(^^)
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
5 Jan 12
I saw Deja vu but don't remember hearing about Eagle eye. When did it come out I will have to see if I can rent the DVD/
One other thing we haven't mentioned is those so called loyalty cards the stores give you supposedly to give you discounts on certain items. Don't you know they are really using them to track your buying habits?
@aerous (13434)
• Philippines
4 Jan 12
I don't who's big brother you talk about. my friend. These days there is no impossible to spying us because of the so called GPS or global positioning system which technology able us to locate because of the signal deliver into us via satelite to our cellphone or computer or any device we posses that the downlink or uplink try to locate us...
The future maybe all people from miles location will be seen in the street or in the home where they live
@PointlessQuestions (15397)
• United States
6 Jan 12
I elieve Big Brother is always watching. You are being tracked on most any street you go on. Gps units are in our cell phones and in our cars. I don't know about watching us through our TVs but I did hear that. It would be pretty hard to not be tracked by Big Brother.
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
7 Jan 12
There is almost no place you can go that you can't be tracked by camera. I am not so sure about the TV though. I do believe we have the technology to turn our TVs into a spy machine but we can turn our TVs off. In the book '1984' They could not turn them off.
@jaihobalodiji1 (949)
• India
4 Jan 12
hey, this is how technology made us a spy. with the use of GPS technology we can locate anyone to anywhere.this is revolutionising the media industry and television industry as well, it can help in the defence mechanism as well.
@cashingzone (1)
•
5 Jan 12
Hi..In my opinion, they will do selective tracking base on certain criteria set or how important the person or issue at hand. Its quite immpossible for them to track everyone everywhere at everytime or else we will not hear any bad news about missing children etc. Its against privacy right where citizens should have some sort of privacy and control in their own life.
@iola2012 (172)
• Philippines
17 Aug 12
That's very interesting. The devices are modified into different purposes. The next decade, new technologies will be out again.
@savak03 (6684)
• United States
17 Aug 12
You are so right. Technology is growing in leaps and bounds. Today's newest gadget is tomorrows outdated trash. When they can dream up these fantastic scientific wonders for movies it is not hard to move to the next stage of creating them for real life. I can see the handwriting on the wall. Can you?