Research Information System
15TH INTERNATIONAL ISTANBUL CONGRESS OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH IN SOCIAL SCIENCES AND HUMANITIES, İstanbul, Turkey, 9 - 11 December 2023, pp.264-269
Developments in information and communication technologies in the mid-twentieth century have led
to the emergence of digitalization, a concept that will affect human beings and all human-related areas
in the twenty-first century. Digitalization refers to the transformation of people’s traditional lifestyles
and existing business processes with digital technologies and their transfer to digital environments.
The digitalization movement, which takes place in education, health, economy and many other fields,
especially in communication, has also caused differences in the perception of surveillance. The dominance
of human beings in digitalization has led to the digitalization of surveillance by enabling the digitalization
of society and thus surveillance to take place in digital environments, unlike traditional styles. The
panopticon understanding of traditional surveillance, in which the majority is kept under pressure and
fear by the minority, has turned into omnipticon within the platforms offered by digitalization with the
developing technology. As a result of the movements of societies in the name of digital transformation,
the understanding of surveillance based on the voluntary consent of everyone has become dominant,
breaking away from the traditional understanding of surveillance. Thanks to the platforms made possible
by digital technologies, where everyone can spy on everyone at any time, the existing understanding of
surveillance in people has changed, and surveillance has turned from a tool of oppression and coercion
into a tool of entertainment and pleasure. From this point of view, the aim of the study is to explain
the transition from the panopticon, the traditional surveillance tool, to the omnipticon equipped with
digital elements through the change in the perception of surveillance by addressing the understanding of
surveillance that emerged with digitalization.
Keywords: Digitalization, Surveillance, Panopticon, Omnipticon