We have a habit of dismissing social media trends as inane and vapid while ignoring the disturbing undercurrent. A few weeks ago I was reminded of that when I saw an Instagram carousel by British fashion personality Alexa Chung. Shared with her 6 million followers, she showed different outfits through screenshots of herself entering and leaving her home on her security camera. Rita Ora commented, “Good angle keep this series going”. Security system company Ring commented, “Fit checks on Ring cam? Next level.”
The post caught my eye among the feed of curated noise, a counterculture take on the traditional iPhone outfit photo. Its presumed effortlessness felt intimate and off the cuff. Social media loves that sort of thing.
But something about it didn’t sit right with me. The fish-eyed lens and zoom-in and zoom-out icons made me feel voyeuristic, like I was stumbling on private footage I shouldn’t be seeing. Maybe that’s exactly what it was.
It called to mind Ring’s dystopian Super Bowl ad from earlier this year. The story of finding a lost dog using neighbours’ Ring cameras and AI tools was intended to pull at heartstrings. Instead, it was a revealing confession of how the Amazon-owned tech company leeches itself on to communities. Its ability to use facial recognition software, not to mention how it partners with local law enforcement, is deeply concerning.
On TV, we’re sold heartwarming stories about pets found via private cameras. On social media, we see influencers turn security footage into “fit checks”. In our suburbs, we face hyper-surveillance in our grocery store chains.
At the same time, there’s been a rise in in-home CCTV social media content and people modifying old CCTV cameras for personal use. We now don’t blink an eye at strangers being filmed in public. Taken individually, we might not like these content styles. Lump them together, and they point to a larger question: are we normalising tech surveillance?
It was all but confirmed when Meta unveiled its new line of AI glasses in late June. The Meta Glasses have built-in cameras, speakers and microphones, letting wearers livestream directly to social media, take hands-free photos, videos and phone calls, listen to music and access Meta AI.
The safety and privacy concerns write themselves. Inconspicuous wearable tech that can record people without their knowledge puts others – particularly girls and women – at risk of indecent filming.
New innovations bring new concerns. Known as “stealth mode”, there are tech modders (modifiers) who turn a profit by disabling Meta Glasses’ recording light. We’ve previously seen the same thing happen with drones and listening devices, with legislation changing accordingly.
Meta chose to launch with Kylie Jenner as the face of the…
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