I am looking for the name of a concept that explains how an individual who knows they are being monitored and controlled behaves differently on the internet. I believe the word "cold" is part of the concept's name and I discovered it through a well-designed web page that featured an infographic of an iceberg.
Ask HN: What's the name of this concept related to surveillance
1–10 of 31 posts
Re: Ask HN: What's the name of this concept related to surveillance
#2That's usually "the Hawthorne effect" (which predates the internet), I don't know of a cold-related phrase for this though ...
Re: Ask HN: What's the name of this concept related to surveillance
#3Chilling effect?
https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/chilling-effect-overv...
Re: Ask HN: What's the name of this concept related to surveillance
#4It seems tangentially related to "self-censorship" if that helps with your search?
Re: Ask HN: What's the name of this concept related to surveillance
#5"Chilling effect" is a general term that seems about right, though isn't internet or censorship specific.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilling_effect
Another related term is "the panopticon", a prison designed so that you always felt like you were being watched.
Re: Ask HN: What's the name of this concept related to surveillance
#6It seems tangentially related to "self-censorship" if that helps with your search? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-censorship
That's a form of self censorship indeed.
Re: Ask HN: What's the name of this concept related to surveillance
#7"Chilling effect" is a general term that seems about right, though isn't internet or censorship specific. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chilling_effect Another related term is "the panopticon", a prison designed so that you always felt like you were being watched. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Panopticon
Might be chilling effect indeed, thank you. I'm trying to find that website which was very visual and well designed...
Re: Ask HN: What's the name of this concept related to surveillance
#8Chilling effect? https://www.thefire.org/research-learn/chilling-effect-overv...
That could be it indeed, thank you. Now I'm trying to find that website which was very visual and well designed to illustrate consequences of chilling effect...
Re: Ask HN: What's the name of this concept related to surveillance
#9Has anyone asked ChatGPT already? Using ChatGPT to find the correct search terms for vaguely described concepts seems very powerful. Knowing the correct terms makes or breaks web searches in my experience.
Re: Ask HN: What's the name of this concept related to surveillance
#10I pasted your question verbatim into ChatGPT-4.
" The concept you may be thinking of is the "chilling effect." It refers to the phenomenon where individuals are less likely to engage in certain behaviors, such as expressing themselves or accessing certain information, due to the fear of surveillance or other forms of monitoring. The term "chilling effect" is often used in the context of government surveillance or censorship, but it can also apply to other types of monitoring and control, such as corporate surveillance or online harassment. The reference to the iceberg in the infographic may have been used to illustrate the idea that only a small portion of the chilling effect is visible on the surface, while the majority of its impact remains hidden beneath the surface. "