--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the" description: "\"“BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the”\" — George Orwell" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/george-orwell-57_brother_big-brother-is-watching-you-the-1971054_1971054.jpg" --- # BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the ![“BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the” quote by George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/george-orwell-57_brother_big-brother-is-watching-you-the-1971054_1971054.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/george-orwell-57_brother_big-brother-is-watching-you-the-1971054_1971054.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/george-orwell-57_brother_big-brother-is-watching-you-the-1971054_1971054.jpg) > ““BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the”” [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. A warning that pervasive surveillance erodes privacy and autonomy, turning citizens into self‑policing subjects. **In simple terms:** Constant monitoring limits freedom. Key Takeaway Guard personal privacy. Themes surveillance freedom authority privacy Mood cautious concerned Type political warning When to use this quote - government policy - digital privacy - workplace monitoring - social media - urban planning Key Concepts totalitarianism social control psychology of fear Questions to Reflect On - Do you feel watched in daily life? - What trade‑offs are acceptable for safety? A Different Perspective Surveillance can be justified for security, creating tension. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Big brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-brother/) [Brother](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brother/) [Brotherhood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/brotherhood/) ## Related quotes > [Big Brother is watching you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/big-brother-is-watching-you/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Big Brother is watching... look busy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brandon-boyd/big-brother-is-watching-look-busy/) [Brandon Boyd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brandon-boyd/) > [I'd heard of the name 'Big Brother' before. I didn't realize that it was on TV for 20 years. My manager told me, ''Big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/metta-world-peace/i-d-heard-of-the-name-big-brother-before-i-didn-t-realize-that-it-was/) [Metta World Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/metta-world-peace/) > [I had always thought of Chris as my kid brother and watching how this kid, as I still thought of him, had affected so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-kidder/i-had-always-thought-of-chris-as-my-kid-brother-and-watching-how-this/) [Margot Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-kidder/) > [Whether or not Big Brother is watching us, we certainly have to watch him, which may be even worse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wilfrid-sheed/whether-or-not-big-brother-is-watching-us-we-certainly-have-to-watch/) [Wilfrid Sheed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/wilfrid-sheed/) > [LeBron's been like a big brother to me, watching me play and giving me pointers on just little things. I really look up to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-simmons/lebron-s-been-like-a-big-brother-to-me-watching-me-play-and-giving-me/) [Ben Simmons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-simmons/) > [“Do you think, maybe, we could continue this someplace more private? Because I can see your brother watching us from behind that palm tree--and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sydney-croft/do-you-think-maybe-we-could-continue-this-someplace-more-private/) [Sydney Croft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sydney-croft/) > [I had always thought of Chris as my kid brother and watching how this kid, as I still thought of him, had affected so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margot-kidder/i-had-always-thought-of-chris-as-my-kid-brother-and-watching-how-this-2/) [Margot Kidder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margot-kidder/) > [“Suddenly they were both leaping around him, shouting 'Traitor!' and 'Thought-criminal!', the little girl imitating her brother in every movement. It was somehow slightly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/suddenly-they-were-both-leaping-around-him-shouting-traitor-and/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The command of the old despotisms was "Thou shalt not". The command of the totalitarians was "Thou shalt". Our command is "Thou art".”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-command-of-the-old-despotisms-was-thou-shalt-not-the-command-of/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Partly it was a sort of hymn to the wisdom and majesty of Big Brother, but still more it was an act of self-hypnosis,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/partly-it-was-a-sort-of-hymn-to-the-wisdom-and-majesty-of-big-brother/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Two gin-scented tears trickled down the sides of his nose. But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/two-gin-scented-tears-trickled-down-the-sides-of-his-nose-but-it-was/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He loved Big Brother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-loved-big-brother/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [But it was all right, everything was all right, the struggle was finished. He had won the victory over himself. He loved Big Brother.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-it-was-all-right-everything-was-all-right-the-struggle-was/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“they'll shoot me I dont care they'll shoot me in the back of the neck I dont care down with big brother they always…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/they-ll-shoot-me-i-dont-care-they-ll-shoot-me-in-the-back-of-the-neck/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More by George Orwell > [In the nineteenth century some parts of the world were unexplored, but there was almost no restriction on travel.:; Up to 1914 you did…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/in-the-nineteenth-century-some-parts-of-the-world-were-unexplored-but/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [It was given out that the animals there practised cannibalism, tortured one another with red-hot horseshoes, and had their females in common. This was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/it-was-given-out-that-the-animals-there-practised-cannibalism/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“The actual writing would be easy. All he had to do was to transfer to paper the interminable restless monologue that had been running…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/the-actual-writing-would-be-easy-all-he-had-to-do-was-to-transfer-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [He felt as though he were wandering in the forests of the sea bottom, lost in a monstrous world where he himself was the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/he-felt-as-though-he-were-wandering-in-the-forests-of-the-sea-bottom/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“if you took 1 Corinthians, chapter thirteen, and in every verse wrote 'money' instead of 'charity', the chapter had ten times as much meaning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/if-you-took-1-corinthians-chapter-thirteen-and-in-every-verse-wrote/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Happiness can exist only in acceptance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/happiness-can-exist-only-in-acceptance/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And if all others accepted the lie which the Party imposed—if all records told the same tale—then the lie passed into history and became…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-if-all-others-accepted-the-lie-which-the-party-imposed-if-all/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Whitman himself "accepted" a great deal that his contemporaries found unmentionable. For he is not only writing of the prairie, he also wanders through…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/whitman-himself-accepted-a-great-deal-that-his-contemporaries-found/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“But I tell you, Winston, that reality is not external. Reality exists in the human mind, and nowhere else. Whatever the Party holds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/but-i-tell-you-winston-that-reality-is-not-external-reality-exists-in/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“And the people under the sky were also very much the same...everywhere, all over the world, hundreds or thousands of millions of people just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-people-under-the-sky-were-also-very-much-the-same-everywhere/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Don’t you see that the whole aim of Newspeak is to narrow the range of thought? In the end we shall make thoughtcrime literally…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/don-t-you-see-that-the-whole-aim-of-newspeak-is-to-narrow-the-range/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [Windmill or no windmill, he said, life would go on as it had always gone on--that is, badly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/windmill-or-no-windmill-he-said-life-would-go-on-as-it-had-always/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Man is the only creature that consumes without producing. He does not give milk, he does not lay eggs, he is too weak to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/man-is-the-only-creature-that-consumes-without-producing-he-does-not/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [And the bigger the fall, the bigger the joke. It would be better fun to throw a custard pie at a bishop than at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/and-the-bigger-the-fall-the-bigger-the-joke-it-would-be-better-fun-to/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) > [“Any writer or journalist who wants to retain his integrity finds himself thwarted by the general drift of society rather than by active persecution.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/any-writer-or-journalist-who-wants-to-retain-his-integrity-finds/) [George Orwell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) [Explore all 1,657 George Orwell quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/) ## More Big brother quotes > [I would go into the 'Big Brother' house for £5million. That is how much I would ask for if they want me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-colin-campbell/i-would-go-into-the-big-brother-house-for-5million-that-is-how-much-i/) [Lady Colin Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-colin-campbell/) > [After I started getting criticism for doing 'Big Brother,' someone told me that Hugh Downs used to host 'Concentration' and Mike Wallace used to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-chen/after-i-started-getting-criticism-for-doing-big-brother-someone-told/) [Julie Chen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-chen/) > [I'm pretty sure that the world doesn't know that I am a 'Big Brother' superfan.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/omarosa-manigault-newman/i-m-pretty-sure-that-the-world-doesn-t-know-that-i-am-a-big-brother/) [Omarosa Manigault Newman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/omarosa-manigault-newman/) > [I always said I would never leave 'Big Brother' unless I was sacked or not wanted, so if it does go elsewhere and they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rylan-clark-neal/i-always-said-i-would-never-leave-big-brother-unless-i-was-sacked-or/) [Rylan Clark-Neal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rylan-clark-neal/) > [I think TV is all about caring, and if you don't care about a character in a drama or a person when they get…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ray-winstone/i-think-tv-is-all-about-caring-and-if-you-don-t-care-about-a/) [Ray Winstone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ray-winstone/) > [Everyone in the world is impacted by the United States' Big Brother attitude toward the world. We need countries to say no to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-stone/everyone-in-the-world-is-impacted-by-the-united-states-big-brother/) [Oliver Stone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-stone/) > [I'd heard of the name 'Big Brother' before. I didn't realize that it was on TV for 20 years. My manager told me, ''Big…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/metta-world-peace/i-d-heard-of-the-name-big-brother-before-i-didn-t-realize-that-it-was/) [Metta World Peace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/metta-world-peace/) > [Not everything looks great on Google. Megan's meltdown on Celebrity Big Brother' is not great. A classic - but I'm embarrassed by it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-mckenna/not-everything-looks-great-on-google-megan-s-meltdown-on-celebrity/) [Megan McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-mckenna/) > [Big Brother doesn't like all these Little Brothers looking at it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hasan-m-elahi/big-brother-doesn-t-like-all-these-little-brothers-looking-at-it/) [Hasan M. Elahi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hasan-m-elahi/) > [I love reality TV shows like 'Big Brother' where it's smart game to vote off the strong competitors, especially early on to give the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manila-luzon/i-love-reality-tv-shows-like-big-brother-where-it-s-smart-game-to/) [Manila Luzon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manila-luzon/) > [Big Brother sounded like a silly stunt and that's what it is.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nigel-kneale/big-brother-sounded-like-a-silly-stunt-and-that-s-what-it-is/) [Nigel Kneale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nigel-kneale/) > [Big data knows and can deduce more about you than Big Brother ever could.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/toomas-hendrik-ilves/big-data-knows-and-can-deduce-more-about-you-than-big-brother-ever/) [Toomas Hendrik Ilves](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/toomas-hendrik-ilves/) > [Negative energy? Sure, there are awkward moments, but you're in 'Big Brother.' Everybody is trying to win, everybody is trying to form alliances, everybody…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eva-marie/negative-energy-sure-there-are-awkward-moments-but-you-re-in-big/) [Eva Marie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eva-marie/) > [I hate these reality TV shows where people walk off Big Brother and think they're A-list celebrities when they've done nothing in their lives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kevin-pietersen/i-hate-these-reality-tv-shows-where-people-walk-off-big-brother-and/) [Kevin Pietersen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kevin-pietersen/) > [EXCITED FOR BIG BROTHER UK 2015 :D](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ricardi-alexandre/excited-for-big-brother-uk-2015-d/) Ricardi Alexandre [Browse all 203 Big brother quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/big-brother/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "George Orwell" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/big-brother-is-watching-you-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Big brother" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/big-brother-is-watching-you-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/george-orwell-57_brother_big-brother-is-watching-you-the-1971054_1971054.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/george-orwell-57_brother_big-brother-is-watching-you-the-1971054_1971054.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/2ff/george-orwell-57_brother_big-brother-is-watching-you-the-1971054_1971054.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the” — George Orwell", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "George Orwell", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-orwell/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“BIG BROTHER IS WATCHING YOU, the”", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/big-brother-is-watching-you-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-orwell/big-brother-is-watching-you-the/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```