“It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

In George Orwell’s classic novel, April 4, 1984 is the date Winston begins writing his diary. In real life, on this date, Ronald Reagan called for an international ban on chemical weapons (which went into effect for the US in 1990, with the last of the nation’s stockpile being destroyed in July 2023). Not exactly the totalitarian dictatorship Orwell predicted in 1949, although I’m sure plenty of people have strong, vivid opinions on Reagan.

So what’s happened since then? Are we living in a totalitarian state where the government uses language to control our every thought? Well, not really. Especially since language is so hard to control–if you don’t give people the words they need, they’ll invent them themselves. But we do have a degree of surveillance in our lives that I don’t think even Orwell could have predicted.

One of the first news stories I remember learning about as a kid was the revelation that George W. Bush could listen to our phones. Being six and not a big user of the telephone, I didn’t care so much, but I knew that lots of adults all over the country cared a lot. When you’re six, you’re observed all the time anyway, because you can’t yet be trusted to handle all of life’s decisions.

Difficult decisions and increased surveillance…is that what’s happening to us now? Alongside the age of surveillance has come the age of the internet, and now we have access to more information than ever.

Eggs are good/terrible for you

You should wash your hair as much/as little as possible

Stress does/doesn’t turn you grey

Vitamin C can/can’t help prevent you from getting sick

The list goes on and on. The examples I listed above are related to health, which is obviously a pretty relevant issue for most people. No matter your position on a health issue, you can pretty much always find an expert to support your decision.

In fact nowadays, when don’t we look for outside help to help us make a decision? We Google things like what brand of shoes to buy, how long an onion will keep in the fridge, what laundry symbols mean, and whether a company is good to work for. There are entire subreddits out there to help people decide whether or not to break up with their romantic partner.

So sure, we’re not living under Big Brother, but we are relying on an outside force to help us make a lot of everyday decisions. And when we rely on that outside force, we subject ourselves to being watched. Sure, some people like that–it’s nice when The Algorithm shows you fun events in your area, or picks out a t shirt you might like. But others want to remain as anonymous as possible, especially to the likes of Google and Facebook.

I wonder, with the rapid proliferation of AI, how long will true online anonymity still be possible…if it even is anymore? Maybe it’s time to give Orwell’s classic a reread.