Watching them watching you

Kate Mikhail
Friday 24 March 1995 00:02 GMT
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It's not paranoia. It's reality. The feeling that 1000 eyes are boring into the back of your head and that every move you make is being closely watched - don't dismiss it - chances are you're on camera.

Whose News?: Videos, Vigilantes and Voyeurism (11.55pm C4) exposes the video revolution for what it is: a double-edged sword that aggressively disregards privacy but also empowers the individual.

Home video entertainment, such as Beadle's About, is arguably just the beginning of a slippery slope to a more sinister video mania - giving media power to the people but also turning the public into an army of big brothers.

The United States has entire cities under close surveillance and a growing number of video vigilantes putting camcorder to shoulder to help restore law and order and, if they are in the right place at the right time, make themselves their fortunes.

The police watch the public, the public monitor the authorities, parents spy on children, and as for baby- sitters - well they should think twice before taking a swipe at that innocent babe. Watch this and you may never feel alone again. With well-concealed cameras, anyone can become a fly on the wall.

This is curtain twitching taken to extremes - it is a matter of whether you are the one watching or the one being watched. Or are you watching yourself being watched?

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