The desire to be seen and surveillance: Voluntary servitude and normative pressure in the digital panopticon

This integrative review examines how social media algorithms function as an invisible yet effective normative compliance mechanism within the framework of Michel Foucault's panopticon metaphor. Inspired by Michel Foucault's panopticon model, the concept of the digital panopticon allows us to understand how modern surveillance structures have evolved from physical institutions to digital platforms and how they create invisible normative pressure on individuals. Despite claiming to offer personalised content, social media platforms go beyond shaping user experience through algorithmic filtering processes, reinforcing individual behavioural norms by prioritising certain types of content (e.g., prestigious, emotional, moral content). Drawing on surveillance theory, social psychology, and media studies literature, this study theoretically discusses how individuals regulate their digital behaviour through the perception of constant surveillance, social approval mechanisms, and algorithmic reinforcement. Concepts such as voluntary servitude, algorithmic steering, and the omniopticon are used to analyse how users often unconsciously participate in their own control processes. The findings reveal that individuals are not merely observed but also internalise surveillance, thereby reproducing normative frameworks. The study demonstrates that digital surveillance is a profound social power relationship that reshapes individuals' behavioural and psychological orientations, extending beyond being just a technical or ethical issue.