Always On: tensions between the libertarian ideal and the surveillance and control potential in a hyperconnected society

This article sheds light on some of the political and social implications related to the use of mobile devices of communication, such as smartphones and personal digital assistants. Several contemporary phenomena related to the development of a hyperconnected society are presented. Such society is often portrayed as impregnated by the libertarian ideal associated with the development of cyberculture, based on three pillars: freedom of location, freedom of emission and freedom of ideology. The present paper argues that a counter-argument can be derived from Foucault’s ideas about surveillance and control, which may be equally categorized by three similar perspectives: surveillance of location, of emission and of ideology. The main underlying objective is to indicate propositions for a larger discussion regarding the power-structure implications of mobile computing in the age of ubiquitous communication.