It wasn’t that long ago when the thought of putting up any kind of surveillance camera, other than in extreme situations, was considered a huge invasion of privacy.
They’d be in banks, airports and other places of importance but never on street corners or in shopping malls, and certainly not in schools.
The thought was, no one should have their every move tracked and recorded — that’s not freedom.
It was the generation that kept government “out” of their bedrooms.
Now, everyone is in the bedroom; and the funeral home, the grocery store, the hotel lobby, the daycare, and anywhere else there is a camera, including the pocket with a smartphone.
So is it any wonder there is a website that shows subscribers live video surveillance footage from cameras placed all over the world?
Would you be surprised if told it was out of Russia?
It is a reminder to those with security cameras (especially those in the home) to take precautions during setup including having strong passwords.
Most being hacked are in factory-default mode and have no, or little, password protection.
For me, the bigger question is, who watches this stuff?
And is there a market for it?
What does it say, when an image from a yogurt shop in Colombia or a living room cat in Saskatoon, takes us away from our everyday life?
Scott Thompson is the host of The Scott Thompson Show at AM900 CHML and a commentator for Global News.