Media Surveillance

I’ve heard so much about how the government and security agencies monitor and spy on us through the internet and it’s scary. For this reason, some people choose to refrain from sharing their opinions on the internet just to avoid the attention and the risk of actually being under surveillance. I'm not saying that there might not be other explanations for them not wanting to share their opinions online, but some people are very paranoid and assume that all their online activities are being monitored even though this may not be the case. Even when they have nothing to hide, they tend to suppress their opinions. And then there’s also the fear of internet trolls.

I believe just the awareness of surveillance can somehow make one uncomfortable and also reduce the likelihood of speaking out on the internet even though they want to. People become hesitant to share their thoughts and opinions on the internet and would rather keep their thoughts to themselves.