The Other Victims of the Surveillance State

“No doubt [Araya] Baker’s experience is legitimate, and, of course, it is true that state surveillance is a very serious problem, but paranoid delusions are real, too.”

The surveillance state is a threat to everyone in a free country. But that does not mean that it impacts everyone in the same way. For some, state surveillance may provide a welcoming sense of security. For others—activists, whistleblowers, libertarians, and the like—the surveillance state is not only the ultimate villain; it also directly threatens their way of life and their basic sense of freedom. Then there is a third group: the paranoid, the neurotic, and the delusional. For these individuals, the surveillance state does not even need to exist in reality; its purported or hypothetical existence is enough to be utterly life-deranging. When discussing the issue of surveillance, this third group is invariably ignored, which inadvertently feeds into delusional beliefs, causing unnecessary harm to a delicate group in society.

It is important to be aware that we live in some kind of a surveillance state, but it is equally important for media outlets to realize that their coverage of this topic is contributing to rising levels of paranoia in our society. According to Daniel Freeman, the author of the 2008 book Paranoia: the 21st Century Fear, “Over-reporting of dangers fosters a culture of paranoia…The more something is repeated, and the more graphic and emotional it is, the greater the impression it makes upon us.” Paranoia in our culture has been on the rise for a while. Some researchers believe that as many as 1 in 6 people fall somewhere on a paranoia spectrum.

Consider how surveillance is described by mainstream outlets. The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) warns that the government “operates in near-total secrecy,” wielding “unchecked power” to “spy” on our phone calls, text messages, emails, and Internet activity. According to Vice, the government is actively trying to expand mass surveillance until there are “eyes everywhere.” A recent article in Slate ups the threat even further, arguing that while the Internet brought about mass surveillance, “AI will enable mass spying.”