Prisoners of a Digital World

In the digital age, surveillance is becoming increasingly pervasive through the growing presence of big data, electronic devices and wireless technologies. Simultaneously, a rising number of individuals is highly dependent on social media and deeply immersed in virtual spaces – with visible effects on their psyche, perception, and ability to communicate. This thesis examines popular surveillance theories discussed within the academic field of surveillance studies and attempts to integrate them into a coherent framework to analyse surveillance in the digital age and its impact on individuals. The main part applies this framework to three contemporary digital dystopias which are by no means just plain and farfetched novels. Already mirroring our reality to some extent, they can be seen as premonitions of what could potentially happen if humankind decided to give up privacy for convenience, attention-seeking, self-presentation, and the ideals of total interconnection and transparency propagated by tech companies.