Nineteen Eighty-Four - Technology

Finish the quote:

“You had to live in the assumption that…

every sound you made was overheard, and, except in darkness, every moment scrutinised”

Finish the quote:

“The telescreen…

received and transmitted simultaneously”

Finish the quote:

“The picture had…

fallen to the floor uncovering the telescreen behind it”

Finish the quote:

“Ear trumpets for…

listening through key-holes”

Finish the quote:

“Day and night the telescreens bruised your ears with statistics proving that people today had more…

food, more clothes, better houses, better recreations—that they lived longer, worked shorter hours, were bigger, healthier, stronger, happier, more intelligent, better educated, than the people of fifty years ago”

Finish critic O’Duffy’s statement about technology:

“some aspects of Oceania are now a part of everyday life. Phone conversations can be listened to and recorded by the government, CCTV is…

rife and the advance of technology might be restricting our language. Is ‘text speak’ just a more subtle form of Newspeak?”

Finish critic McCallum’s statement about technology:

“We feel his anxiety when he…

avoids the telescreen in his flat”

What context could be used to support this?

Smartphones and smart devices.

How can modern technology link to this?

The first 'smartphone' was created in 1994, yet smart devices have come on massively since then. Focusing on home devices, Amazon, Google and various other tech companies have created 'virtual assistant services' such as Alexa, Echo and Google Home. These devices, much like spy devices used in World War Two, listen to conversations had within their proximity, ready to respond when they hear their verbal que (e.g. "Alexa").