A couple of years ago, I was at home, getting ready for a night out. In between glimpses at my TV, watching The Real Housewives (LOL), and dashing to the mirror in my bathroom to perfect a beat face, I had my Facebook messenger up. This is the world we live in now, trying to multitask, slipping in and out of real life and cyber world. Anyway, I noticed that whenever I was in front of my computer, there was no audible alert that I had new messages. Whenever I went back to the bathroom, there would be a “ding” alert.

That was the beginning of my suspicion/paranoia. Most recently, I was pensively perched in front of my laptop…out of no where, I heard several camera shutter sounds. The sound you here when you take a screenshot. The thing is…I wasn’t even touching my keyboard. It just starting snapping pics! WTF?!?! As a self-diagnosed misophoniac, I kinda freaked! Is somebody watching me? Needless-to-say, I now have duct tape on that little camera…LOL…and you should TOO!!! I’m not the only one who thinks the government, or maybe some other insidious forces are finding a way to not only watch your behavior, but possibly control you, or even do you harm.

Last Friday, the Internet was hit hard, three times, by some “unknown” attackers, completely disabling sites like Twitter, Spotify and PayPal. The company that was targeted is called DYN. Their chief strategy officer Kyle York said, “The source of some of the traffic that attacked the company came from compromised ‘Internet of Things’ devices which include baby monitors, webcams and even thermostats that can connect to the Internet.” Was this just some kids seeing if they could break the internet, or was this possibly a test to see what damage could be done remotely, utilizing household electronics that we trust and pay NO attention to?

Then there was that exploding Samsung cell phone situation last month, where over 100 phones caught fire. And more recently, a phone on a Southwest plane combusted while the user was powering down. The whole cabin filled with smoke, and everyone had to be evacuated. But this isn’t just a Samsung thing. In 2015 and 2016, iPhone users reported being burned by their exploding phones. And…Nokia recalled over 46 million lithium ion batteries thought to be the cause of all these erupting devices.

How much do we really know about the technology that rules are lives? If hackers can totally shutdown our cyber lives by incapacitating our social sites and our fave, supposedly ‘secure’ (that’s what that “https” heading is supposed to mean) shopping sites, or phones can mysteriously explode even on a plane…it’s not hard to imagine that the new weapons of mass destruction have ALREADY infiltrated our homes and lives. How would you react if all planes, busses, trains, schools, offices, etc. restricted you from bringing your phone or laptop into public spaces for “safety” reasons?

What if all these portable devices that we are addicted to were a plan all along by the government to have access to us 24/7? Of course, the government loves you, and wishes no harm…but it’s not just my opinion that there’s way more to it than providing fun places for you to share a selfie, waiting for that high when your followers increase; or posting a 10 second Snapchat Yayo, feeding your fiending ego.

For years, there has been speculation and theories that the government is tapping into your devices. There was even an episode called Hunting Season on the second season of the hit ABC TV show Scandal that asserted a fictional scenario that the government is using a new technology called “Thorngate” to spy on its citizens. This was taken directly from the Edward Snowden news story in 2013. Snowden was a former contractor for the National Security Agency who leaked thousands of pages of previously classified NSA intelligence documents,  thinking that Apple’s iPhone has “special software” that authorities can activate remotely to be able to gather information about the user. Apple was in fact accused of being in cahoots with our government in a project called PRISM– where they extracted video, audio, pictures, documents, emails and connection logs from OUR devices, allowing analysts to track our movements and any communications we received or sent out. Apple, of course, denied any complicity…but it’s not that hard to believe that the WORLD’S most valuable company, $605 Billion, is not somehow connected to some major players. When there’s that much money around, there’s bound to be some shady dealings going down.

A few years ago, The Wall Street Journal posted an article stating that Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt was “bristled” about reports that the U.S. government allegedly spied on the company’s data centers, describing such an act as “outrageous” and potentially illegal if proven. He continued, “It’s really outrageous that the National Security Agency was looking between the Google data centers, if that’s true. The steps that the organization was willing to do without good judgment to pursue its mission and potentially violate people’s privacy, it’s not OK! The Snowden revelations have assisted us in understanding that it’s perfectly possible that there are more revelations to come.”

So, next time you decide to punch in your credit card info, sign-up to a music service to stream you favorite Beyoncé tracks, or trade d*ck pics on a gay social app, just know that your apathetic actions could be catastrophic! In the upside down world, the new world of unknown technology, there’s nothing but darkness, decay and rotten Apples…YOU IN DANGER GURRRL!!! (pics by Bob Bottle)