A new trend has emerged where people are taking selfies with surveillance cameras, including doorbell cameras and traffic cameras. English model Alexa Chung has posted a series of photos from a security camera mounted outside her home in London, showcasing her daily life under surveillance. This trend has sparked concerns about privacy and security, with some arguing that it normalizes the idea of being constantly watched.

Privacy Concerns

Privacy advocates like Judith Donath are worried about the connectivity of all these cameras, which can share video data with security companies and potentially be used by law enforcement. Donath compared the trend to the controversy surrounding Ring’s Super Bowl advertisement, which used a family looking for a lost pet to show off how interlinked Ring’s camera networks are.

Others, like Liv Darcey, a London-based content creator, see the trend as a way to play with frames and angles that feel less curated. Darcey posted a video on TikTok featuring footage taken from her own doorbell camera, with a sarcastic caption about her assigned FBI watcher.

Surveillance State

The trend has also raised questions about the surveillance state and the role of technology in our lives. Artist Julia Scher has focused on the different shapes and meanings of surveillance for decades, and sees the emergent surveillance aesthetic as something layered and self-referential. Scher believes that young people are aware of the camera’s gaze and are looking back at it, making it a game.

Ruby Lin, a designer and art director in New York, posted a Ring camera selfie series on TikTok, with a sarcastic caption about her daily greetings and fit checks for her assigned FBI watcher. Lin had originally purchased a smart doorbell camera after her car was broken into in front of her apartment, but now feels torn about the idea of being constantly watched.

Original reporting: KEYT (Ventura/Santa Barbara) — read the source article.