Big Brother

Being home is a lovely feeling after a long day at college, but when you're home is more like a nicely decorated fort knox it's hard to really get into the comfortable zone. To make matters worse my currently 'grounded' state ensures that college, work and home are the only places I have access to; and so including a confiscated phone and unreliable internet it is a wonder that I am still coping. Don't get me wrong, technology shouldn't be so imperetive in a teenagers life, but there is no denying that without such luxuries your social life is bound to be knocked back into the dark ages.

Anyway, back to the fort knox thing, if it isn't bad enough that we already have motion detectors acting as an alarm trigger against burglars and a screen displaying who is at the door we are now having camera's installed. In my opinion this is taking unsociability to a whole new level, a level that I am entirely sure is just to catch me doing something I shouldn't be, but that may just be paranoia to the fact I know I am doing things prohibited within my household. Camera's are being installed to the front and rear of the house as well as internally, so if you are thinking of breaking in I would think again... not that you know where I live or anything, I'm just warning. The problem with making it hard to break in also means it is impossible to break out, seems karma has finally payed me back for a misused youth. It is entirely safe to say I may as well be in prison, though I doubt they even take the whole security thing to the same level as my family do. In all honesty I can understand some of the measure put in place to ensure we feel safe in our own home, but even I have to admit that the measures have reached an extremity I am not comfortable with. Internal camera's mean there will no longer be a mad dash from the bathroom to my bedroom upstairs if it will all be caught on tape; seems like I may have to actually remember my towel from now on. I'm living my own version of 'Big Brother' and it scares me slightly but then I also have to think that it doesn't scare me as much as a homicidal maniac in my home.

England isn't always all that safe, notes have been left by the police service informing us there have been break-ins in our area so really extra security doesn't seem that ridiculous in the grand scheme of things. People are being attacked left, right and centre which really doesn't give me much hope for future generations. If parents are worried now about their kids being out too late because people are getting mugged at cash points and raped in alleyways then it is no wonder that society has become unsociable and somewhat desensitised towards issues worldwide. Because let's face it they also face threats on their own doorstep, why concern yourself with the bigger picture when you are too busy looking over your shoulder for the next felon. However as a wannabe journalist I notice not only the bigger picture but also the small things, like the way elderly couples cross the road if they see me on a day where jeans and are hoody are all I can be bothered to throw on, black people in hoodies seem to scare them just as much as a group of men along a unlit street scare me when I'm alone. It's a messed up world we live in really, and I honestly think this is one of those situations that goes from bad to worse because too many people fall into the stereotype of being the hooligan people think they are, just because they don't really see what else they can aspire to.

So maybe soon I won't be the only one living in a house armed with camera's, motion detectors and good old mistrust.