Surveillance through information and communication technologies is an integral part of modernity. However, there has been little research into how surveillance is experienced, with much research focusing on the structural aspects of surveillance. We conducted focus groups with Generation Y internet users to investigate their experiences of internet surveillance. They demonstrate an awareness of and ambivalence about surveillance online, negotiating their digital visibility and exposure against the risks and benefits of using the internet. However, their overwhelming interest and concern is that their online access to desired content is immediate and unfettered. We argue that immediacy has come to dominate how Generation Y understand and negotiate their internet experience, and describe how immediacy outweighs any concerns participants have. This study highlights the need to further explore the experience of surveillance, and the importance of immediacy in understanding sociotechnical systems and experiences.

Item Type:	Refereed Article
Keywords:	exposure, Generation Y, immediacy, internet surveillance, surveillance, visibility
Research Division:	Human Society
Research Group:	Sociology
Research Field:	Sociology not elsewhere classified
Objective Division:	Culture and Society
Objective Group:	Other culture and society
Objective Field:	Other culture and society not elsewhere classified
UTAS Author:	Lee, A (Mr Ashlin Lee)
UTAS Author:	Cook, P (Dr Peta Cook)
ID Code:	98653
Year Published:	2015 (online first 2014)
Web of Science® Times Cited:	14
Deposited By:	School of Social Sciences
Deposited On:	2015-02-23
Last Modified:	2017-12-12
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