The controversies of social media surveillance: When privacy and exposure are at war

Abstract

Social media is characterized by a self-regulatory privacy policy regime that puts capital interest’s first. Surveillance normally occurs in political and economic forms; though to a small extent social surveillance is also evident in social media. Little is known by Social Media users about social media surveillance, and surveillance technologies, yet such media is used for e-management. This article sought to establish the stages of surveillance, its technologies as well as its linkage to self-exposure and privacy by a qualitative and innovative research. In relation to exposure, it was discovered that surveillance creates an unbalanced relationship between the observers (such as social media service providers) and those being observed (social media service users). From a privacy point of view the study revealed that the anonymity enjoyed by the individual in small communities, is jeopardized by pervasive surveillance, especially via social media. It was concluded that surveillance over social media is a very controversial issue. The study recommended that the concept of surveillance and its transformation through the digital incarnation of the individual requires an examination with a greater scope and an interdisciplinary approach (which includes diverse disciplines of social sciences like sociology, political sciences, social psychology, anthropology and even history and philosophy) to be evaluated.