do you ever get the feeling someone is spying on you?

[maki2]

there I am working away on my build and I get the feeling someone is watching me and recording what I am up to
No its not paranoia...its real. They are even taking high resolution closeups, smile...you are on candid camera.  Time to get out the camo netting.

 

[travelaround]

Very disconcerting! But if you're talking about government satellites, or Google maps... yes, they're real. Thanks for reminding me to order some camo netting!

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

There are 360,000,000 people and 3,800,000 square miles in the US.  Unless you have given the government a very good reason to track you, the resolution of the picture you showed is what they see.  Not exactly good enough to come and ask why you didn't smile.

The Google Maps satellites photograph an area once every 2 - 3 years, at a resolution of 1 pixel per 15 meters.  More current and higher resolution is by airplane in densely populated areas.

Camo netting won't do you any good as the spy satellites capture a full radiation spectrum from low IR to high UV.

Google Street View is more concerning but I have never seen one on a Forest Service road.

 

[bullfrog]

Smile!!!

 

[RoamerRV428]

big brother is everywhere so just live your life as ya want and say screw it to all of it LOL

 

[jeanmarie]

Yes. My husband seems to have taken up residence in my head and knows what I am going to before I do.

 

[MrNoodly]

Whoever is spying on me must get incredibly bored.

 

[B and C]

Same here. Nothing exciting to see for sure.

 

[bullfrog]

Border Patrol has the support of the military systems in some cases for all those who like to be seen! LOL!!!

 

[B and C]

I didn't say I "liked" being seen. There is no expectation of privacy once you step foot outside your door.

 

[owl]

We are all most likely in the background of more selfies than space shots. They are harmless right? Or are they?

 

[maki2]

Of course you can also take a virtual drive right down the streets using google street view. A few years back my partner was out walking the dog down the sidewalk and noticed the Google vehicle go by that had a lot of cameras mounted on the roof. Sure enough it was not very much longer that he was able to go onto the google street view and see they did indeed capture his image. Fortunately they do put a slight blur over faces of people and also license plates of cars on the street. But the dog was easily recognizable!

I enjoy using the street view on Google Earth Pro. It is a fun way to be a virtual nomad in other countries.

 

[maki2]

There are 360,000,000 people and 3,800,000 square miles in the US.  Unless you have given the government a very good reason to track you, the resolution of the picture you showed is what they see.  Not exactly good enough to come and ask why you didn't smile.

The resolution of the picture I posted looks not so great because I zoomed way out when I captured it off the computer. At its maximum closeup you can see the details on the roof of my travel trailer and my car and the other cars in the parking lot where I am.

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

I'll ask the question more directly: Why should they be interested in you?
They see a bunch of cars and a travel trailer in a parking lot.  Any reason they should be interested in your car and trailer?  Otherwise you're just background noise.

We're on candid camera all the time: almost all stores have security cameras in and outside, even lower middle class neighborhoods and a lot of apartment buildings have outside cameras, some public parks and buildings have cameras.  I have a dash camera, smart phone, could have a wearable camera, a friend has a trail camera looking at his campsite.

My point is that unless someone has a reason to notice you, you're just one of millions of cars and trailers they photograph in a day.  Spying implies an active interest.

 

[Wabbit]

I am going to assume this comment is more wide eyed and innocent and less willful ignorance. Ignoring life's facts and what we know about human nature is risky and dangerous. I have done this more than once(crappy coping skills) and I have never gotten the result I was wishing for.

Splitting hairs about the difference between "spying" and "surveillance" does not actually help anyone in the long run. It may make you feel better about it today(they aren't spying on me, they're surveiling the neighborhood to keep me "safe").

Amazon just received a patent for something they are calling "Surveillance as a Service". I imagine it will be monetized and then we can pay them to keep an eye on us. Safety first!

"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.” ~ Ben Franklin

“I would rather be exposed to the inconveniences attending too much liberty than to those attending too small a degree of it.”  ~Thomas Jefferson

I am not eloquent or coherent enough to communicate the dangers of a surveillance state. I hope those that are, speak up.(Not here, just in general every day encounters).

Here's a paper discussing the dangers of surveillance. Find link at bottom.

Here's an excerpt...

"But the important point is that our society lacks an understanding
of why (and when) government surveillance is harmful. Existing at-
tempts to identify the dangers of surveillance are often unconvincing,
and they generally fail to speak in terms that are likely to influence the
law. In this Article, I try to explain the harms of government surveil-
lance. Drawing on law, history, literature, and the work of scholars in
the emerging interdisciplinary field of “surveillance studies,” I offer an
account of what those harms are and why they matter. I will move
beyond the vagueness of current theories of surveillance to articulate a
more coherent understanding and a more workable approach."

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2239412

 

[RoamerRV428]

Spiff, maki isn't saying it is all about her, just posting that 'someone is watching' us from every angle, all the time, and damn if it ain't true and ya'll know we all hate it but

this post should be taken lightly....don't go confrontation for no reason, lol....fun little chat post about it all and the crazy out there....way I see it!

 

[Wabbit]

It's kinda hard(for me) to not get a little worked up when I think I see something happening that most likely will not end well. It's a fine line between, the universe has taken care of me so far and what is my personal responsibility for ensuring that I also take care of me. That make sense?

If someone wanted to discuss this topic, PM me. I'm a big boy now, I enjoy hearing points of view that I have not thought about.

Thanks for the reminder RoamerRV.

 

[RoamerRV428]

yea Wabbit that does make sense to me. That fine line of the universe taken care of me so far and where do I step in and handle (and to what degree) what I need to in order to survive thru it all I get that LOL

 

[Spaceman Spiff]

 . . . Splitting hairs about the difference between "spying" and "surveillance" does not actually help anyone in the long run . . .

I am not being 'wide eyed and innocent', and willfully ignorant.  I'm just explaining how data is used.

There is a serious difference between spying and surveillance:
 - spying is collecting data on a target, be it a person or process or activity.  (I'm collecting information on wabbit's movements).
 - surveillance is looking for particular activities in an area.  (I'm looking at activity in a lot that wabbit happens to be parked in).

I was just pointing out that in order for someone to spy on you, they are already interested in you.  There isn't enough bandwidth to target 360M people.

As to liberty: my having a dash cam doesn't limit your rightful liberty at all but it might protect mine.  It is all in how the collected data is used.

roamerRV428:  I was not trying to confront anyone.  I was just pointing out that unless someone has an interest in the OP, she is just part of the herd.  No particular interest is paid.  She is not being spied on.

 

[RoamerRV428]

very cool Spiff, I get ya!!

good post