The novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, written by George Orwell in 1949, is about an oligarchic, collectivist society. Orwell's novel portrayed a world of perpetual war, pervasive government surveillance and mind control. In 2011 we can see many similarities to Orwell's predictions.

A USA Today headline and drophead warn, "Yes, You Are Being Watched: Big Brother's got nothing on today's digital sensors" (Byron Acohido, Jan. 26, 2011). The report that follows shows that we are being monitored today in numerous ways, and we don't even realize it: "Surveillance cameras at airports, subways, banks and other public venues are not the only devices tracking you. Inexpensive, ever-watchful digital sensors are now ubiquitous. They are in laptop webcams, video-game motion sensors, smartphone cameras, utility meters, passports and employee ID cards."

As digital stalkers and peepers are increasing, the cost of storing digital data is decreasing. The result is an explosion of sensor data collection and storage. "Step out your front door and you could be captured in a high-resolution photograph taken from the air or street by Google or Microsoft, as they update their respective mapping services. Drive down a city thoroughfare, cross a toll bridge, or park at certain shopping malls and your license plate will be recorded and time-stamped" (ibid).

The chilling effect of all this is that you can be tagged, which can effectively pull you out of group photos and affect your privacy. "Once you are tagged in a photo, that photo could be used to search for matches across the entire Internet, or in private databases, including those fed by surveillance cameras" (ibid).

Question: What's to prevent Big Brother from becoming a tool of totalitarian control in the hands of the Beast of Revelation? Prophecy indicates that the Beast will be able to keep watch over people's commercial activity (Revelation 13:16-17). (Source: USA Today.)