Study: Average American Filmed By Estimated 238 Security Cameras A Week

According to a new study, the average American is filmed by an estimated 238 security cameras each week.

The study was authored by the Safety.com security team which found that the average American is filmed by security cameras more than 238 times a week, a number that has increased rapidly and is only expected to continue as facial recognition is pushed throughout society.

CNBC reports that there will be an estimated one billion security cameras filming around the world by 2021, with somewhere between 10-18% of those being in the United States alone. This may be attributed to the fact Ring operates in the U.S. which is used for monitoring neighborhoods. However, we don't know for sure about that assumption. But Safety expands on that belief writing,

The advent of doorbell cameras becoming the norm for many people thinking about home security means an exponential increase in the number of times they might end up on camera, both on their own home security system but also while walking through the neighborhood where other homeowners might have their own system set up.

When calculated on a per-person basis, this is the second-highest ratio of security cameras to the population in the world. CBS News reported in 2019 that second to China, the U.S. has at least one security camera filming for every 4.6 people, compared to one camera for every 4.1 people in China.

The research is based on IPUMS Time Use data and spread out over the course of an average week. What was revealed is staggering -- an estimated 238 times a week each person is recorded according to the study. The research included many aspects of a person's daily life including driving, and walking around your own neighborhood while working and while shopping at retail stores.

The authors of the study concluded that the average person would be filmed 14 times while walking around their own neighborhood, 160 times while driving, 40 times while working, and 24 times while shopping in just a single week. However, these are rough estimates and shouldn't be taken verbatim. The authors note while they found an average, "we are comfortable reporting on, the swings both directions can be drastic. 

There are people, as an example those who frequently travel by air, or work in high-security environments, who might be on camera easily over 1,000 times a week, while there are plenty of jobs and careers that might make it so someone entirely avoids being recorded during their average week."

This comes as Amazon has announced its Ring service will now sell in-home drones pitched as the "Always Home Cam." If that wasn't enough, it's an autonomous drone flying camera that zooms around inside your home to give you a perspective of any room you want when you're not home. 

The drone can also be commanded to fly on-demand or programmed to fly when a disturbance is detected by its linked Ring Alarm system. Once it's done flying, the Always Home Cam returns to its dock to charge its battery like a good robot.

Being on video is being more and more normalized as time goes on and it has been shifting for a while now to include facial recognition technology. 

While the estimated number of times per person being on camera weekly is 238, that number could surely increase drastically as facial recognition technology becomes more widespread. 

Especially with controversial facial recognition company Clearview AI -- which has built a database of more than 3 billion images taken from Facebook, Instagram and other sites, being funded for $8.6 million dollars.

Our privacy is a thing of the past.

Originally published at Activist Post - reposted with permission.