Streaming From The Panopticon

Is anywhere free from performance?

Ashley Sudeta

We’re approaching the most humiliating time of the year. That’s right, Spotify Wrapped season! Soon a tacky, likely AI-generated reel, will christen my personal aesthetic “soggy loser-core indie” and peer pressure will push me to publicly disclose the ungodly number of hours I spent listening to Car Seat Headrest. It’s been this way for years. Not just in terms of my consistently sad music taste, but also our waning privacy. Technology has comfortably eased us into a world where our lives are constantly publicized and scrutinized. We’ve accidentally become dancers at the panopticon DJ set.

A panopticon is a round prison with a central watchtower. While each cell isn't constantly watched, they’re always visible from the tower—there’s always a chance they’re being watched. This forces those imprisoned to assume they’re constantly under surveillance. In “Discipline and Punish,” French philosopher Michel Foucault uses the panopticon as a metaphor for social power and discipline. He argues that under surveillance, individuals begin to police themselves, doing the watchman’s work themselves.

I used to spend all year worrying the music I listened to would give me an uncool or, even worse, “basic” Wrapped. However, after downloading the Airbuds app, I now have these thoughts every time I listen to music. Airbuds connects to your music streaming account so others can see everything you listen to and send reactions. Where things get panopticon-y is that since I never know whether anyone’s actually checking the app, I cautiously live under the assumption I’m always being watched. I never stop performing.

Spotify Wrapped isn’t evil—it’s just an example. My real concern is that the pressure to live on the internet combined with the harsh judgment from others will condition users to excessively police themselves in all areas of life. Is it possible to truly live for yourself in an era of online performance? Or will people prohibit themselves from pondering certain ideas just because a Twitter circle deems them unthinkable? I think it’s already happening. Restraint and conformity are creeping in as we believe we’re just thinking freely and having fun.