INTRODUCTION
Technological advancements are no doubt soaring higher and higher as the years progress, but at what cost? As new technology is being incorporated into the lives of all, are we getting greater security or unintentionally getting controlled? This article explores how social credit frameworks and surveillance in dystopian narratives reveal the subtle dangers of technology: the slow erosion of our rights and autonomy.
To unpack this, I’ll examine Orwell’s 1984, an episode of Black Mirror, and the growing digital identity infrastructure here in Pakistan by the name of NADRA, a government initiative to centrally store records of the citizens, issue IDs and aid the government’s works such as elections and taxation. These works collectively warn that when technology designed for trust or convenience is twisted for control, it strips away freedom and transforms society into something unrecognisably authoritarian.
For instance, scholars argue that Orwell’s depiction of tele-screens illustrates “a society stripped of privacy, individuality, and truth” — a warning that remains chillingly relevant today.
ANALYSIS / MAIN BODY
George Orwell 1984
George Orwell’s 1984 (1949) imagines a world where technology is not liberating but oppressive. In this dystopia, telescreens monitor citizens day and night, erasing the boundary between private and public life. The ever-present slogan “Big Brother is watching you” captures how surveillance penetrates even the most intimate spaces.
Because people know they are constantly observed, they begin to police their own behavior; fear replaces freedom, and self-censorship becomes second nature. The telescreens also act as tools of propaganda, broadcasting the Party’s version of truth until individuals lose the ability to form independent judgments.
Scholars note that Orwell’s vision of “a society stripped of privacy, individuality, and truth” mirrors how authoritarian regimes rely on surveillance to enforce obedience (Smith, 2017). This demonstrates that when technology is harnessed for control rather than empowerment, it undermines personal liberty. Orwell’s warning remains relevant as modern systems of digital surveillance risk producing similar outcomes under the guise of security or efficiency.
Black Mirror: Nosedive (2016)
The Black Mirror episode Nosedive envisions a near-future society where every social interaction is rated, and an individual’s worth is determined by their score. Unlike overt government surveillance, this system thrives on peer-to-peer monitoring, where technology turns reputation into a form of social currency.
The protagonist, Lacie, obsessively curates her behavior to maintain a high rating, yet her life spirals downward when her score falls. In this world, a single poor rating can cost someone housing, career opportunities, or even friendships. This system demonstrates how technology amplifies social pressure, producing compliance through fear of social exclusion. People modify their personalities not to express themselves but to please others, eroding authenticity. The constant pursuit of validation leaves individuals trapped in anxiety and isolation, showing how surveillance can be internalized as (forced) self-discipline, which may not be one’s true self.
Scholars argue that Nosedive illustrates a form of “participatory surveillance,” where individuals voluntarily become both the watchers and the watched (Chen, 2018). Although it is for their own selves to enjoy the benefits of the world they are living in, this highlights an eventual shift from external coercion to internalized control, where power operates invisibly through social norms and digital systems.
Likewise, Andrejevic (2019) notes that digital platforms increasingly rely on “the work of being watched,” where people internalize surveillance as part of everyday life. The episode suggests that technology does not have to be authoritarian to limit freedom; even when framed as convenience or progress, it can still strip away individuality. This anticipates how real-world digital rating systems may normalize surveillance in subtle but equally damaging ways.
NADRA of Pakistan
Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) manages one of the world’s largest biometric identification systems, holding fingerprints, photos, and personal data of millions of citizens. Initially developed for national security and service delivery, NADRA has become central to everyday life, from voting to opening a bank account. Citizens cannot access many basic services without NADRA verification. For example, SIM card purchases, financial transactions, and government benefits are all tied to biometric ID systems, giving the state unprecedented access to personal information.
While the system improves efficiency and reduces fraud, it also raises serious privacy concerns. The centralization of biometric data creates risks of surveillance, misuse, and exclusion, especially for marginalized communities who may be denied ID registration. Citizens become increasingly dependent on a system they cannot opt out of, blurring the line between convenience and coercion. Scholars have noted that NADRA’s integration of surveillance and governance reflects how modern states consolidate control through technology (Khan, 2020). Biometric systems, once justified as neutral tools, often become mechanisms of power, reshaping the relationship between citizen and state.
NADRA illustrates how surveillance is not confined to fictional dystopias but embedded in real administrative systems. It shows how technology, even under the banner of progress, risks undermining privacy and autonomy when individual data becomes inseparable from state control.
REAL-LIFE PARALLELS
Real-world surveillance systems show that the concerns often dismissed as dystopian fiction are already embedded in modern governance. China’s Social Credit System is perhaps the starkest example: citizens are assigned behavioral scores that determine their access to basic freedoms. Low ratings can mean restrictions on travel, education, and employment. This illustrates how surveillance can directly erode personal freedom, turning everyday choices into state-monitored calculations.
The United States provides another case through the National Security Agency’s mass surveillance programs. Revelations showed that the government secretly collected citizens’ phone records and internet activity, far beyond what most believed was lawful oversight. This demonstrates the misuse of technology under the guise of security, where tools meant to protect citizens instead compromise their privacy. Ordinary people, unaware of the extent of monitoring, lose control over their personal data.
In the United Kingdom, an extensive CCTV network tracks millions of people in real time. While justified as a crime-prevention tool, its omnipresence reshapes public behavior. Knowing one is constantly watched alters how citizens move and act, reflecting subtle but powerful social control.
Together, these cases prove that surveillance is not confined to novels or films. They reveal how technology, once celebrated as progress, carries risks of coercion, misuse, and loss of autonomy when deployed unchecked by states and institutions.
CONCLUSION
This research explored the question of how surveillance and credit systems influence freedom, identity, and social control in both fiction and reality. The analysis demonstrated that while such technologies can be powerful tools for order and progress, they also carry serious risks. From 1984 and Nosedive to NADRA and global surveillance systems, the evidence shows that unchecked monitoring often erodes privacy, fosters inequality, and limits autonomy. Ultimately, societies must strike a balance between innovation and liberty. Without this balance, we risk replicating the very dystopian futures imagined in literature and film, where technology becomes a mechanism of control rather than empowerment.
WORKS CITED
● Orwell, George. 1984. Secker & Warburg, 1949.
● Brooker, Charlie. “Nosedive.” Black Mirror, season 3, episode 1, Netflix, 2016.
● National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA). “About Us.” Government of
Pakistan, www.nadra.gov.pk.
● Liang, Fan. “China’s Social Credit System: A Model for Other Nations?” Communications
of the ACM, vol. 62, no. 11, 2019, pp. 54–61.
● Greenwald, Glenn. No Place to Hide: Edward Snowden, the NSA, and the U.S.
Surveillance State. Metropolitan Books, 2014.
● Lyon, David. Surveillance Studies: An Overview. Polity Press, 2007.
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