Chris Thompson   Chris Thompson on the internet

It was quite nice, this last weekend, because I met up with a lot of friends from all around the world who I rarely get to see. But occasions like this (ones that have been planned well in advance) give me a chance to catch up with them, and they are very welcome.

Really, it was at a party with old university friends, and guys from my old football team, gathering together and sharing old stories.

We had a barbecue, out there next to the lake, and even had a game of football on our old university grounds. Ducks waddled by with a trail of little ducklings, and the rain held off until we were leaving, so all in all it was very good.

But as I wandered down to the campus shop to buy a drink or two, I noticed a CCTV camera above the cash machine, and another next to the shop entrance. And there were more, dotted here and there around the place, that made me feel as though I was in Big Brother.

I don’t like feeling as though I’m in Big Brother. And I was brooding over that for the rest of the day.

But then, on the way back home, I was browsing the net on my phone, and I saw something to balance those feelings out. I missed the news of the New York bomb incident, but I did read up on it afterwards — and it sounds as though now footage has been released of a possible suspect on CCTV.

And if that can lead to his capture and questioning — especially if he’s in any way involved — then that more than makes up for being watched going in and out of a shop.

CCTV monitoring systems are all about our safety, at the end of the day.

Have you heard of the naked scanner?

Neither had I, until today. But I was browsing the news earlier, and came across this article on the BBC’s website – the scanner is being tested in Manchester airport to speed up airport security checks, and reduce the hassle and time-consuming nature of being individually checked by guards, and having to take off your belt, your shoes, and your jacket, etc. Which all sounds rather wonderful.

The problem, of course, is that it produces a naked image of yourself, and transmits it so someone in a remote location somewhere nearby.

I suppose people are complaining because of the notion of a big brother society, where we can be watched and seen and tracked in all manner of places, all over the country. This is a step too far. It’s like something out of James Bond, like those glasses he had in a recent movie that allowed him to see through women’s clothes.

But is it, really? Sure, you can argue we live in a big brother society. These days, CCTV cameras are pretty much everywhere – I even saw one in the cinema the other day, not outside, but inside, by the escalators – is that not more worrying than being seen in black and white, for the briefest of moments, at an airport?

And then there’s GPS vehicle tracking – another invention that means you can pretty much be followed everywhere. Someone can find your vehicle, and follow it in real time on a computer screen, and track you down.

I think I would be more worried about the radiation from the scanning device in Manchester than being seen sort of naked. They say it’s only a minute amount, that you’re safe for thousands of trips through the scanner, but that’s not the point: I still don’t want to subject myself to that. And let’s not forget this is airport security we’re talking about. I would rather fly safe in the knowledge that I’m not about to be blown up, than worry about being seen naked.

When it comes to the big brother stuff, there are far worse things than being seen in a black and white image somewhere. Something like RFID tracking (imagine buying a product and having a chip in it so people can track where it goes!) is probing more worryingly into my privacy, I think, than the naked scanner.

But maybe that’s just me.

Over at the Guardian website, there is an article discussing how there has been a steady increase of CCTV systems and surveillance in Britain over recent years. In fact, they state that it’s a 44% increase since 2006, which is really quite staggering. But saying that, I have heard a lot about it over the years, but never really seen much evidence of it.

My not noticing it though is probably more to do with me not paying much attention than anything else. Because today not only did I notice it, but I noticed it almost everywhere I went. Britain now has more surveillance and CCTV cameras than anywhere else in the world, and if you look for it, you can see why.

Often, they are so well hidden that you just don’t notice them. I suppose that’s the whole point really, but when you are simply walking through town, or going to the cinema, it seems a bit much to be recorded 24/7. I wouldn’t have noticed the camera in the cinema lobby at all, if I hadn’t specifically scanned the area for it: the small print next to the ticket machine informed me that I was being watched and recorded.

It just seems slightly … James Bond-ish. It’s futuristic and surreal, and really not very nice to think about. I just hope that it does its job – presumably helping with crime – as much as it raises the hairs on the back of my neck.

Apparently Big Brother is still going strong. Despite low ratings, it’s still ploughing away, and if I’m honest, I’m not really sure how. It must be at least the 10th season, by now, and it’s having to delve deep into the bag of tricks to even remain interesting. I was quite a fan of the first series, these days but it’s been getting progressively worse, obsessed with sex and sexual preferences and conventions.

But CCTV is everywhere in real life; you are probably caught on film too many times a day to count with your fingers, and all this is before you factor in the joys of call recording. I have enough Big Brother in my life already, I think, without watching the show itself.

And call logging is getting increasingly more frequent, too. There are all sorts of security companies out there offering surveillance services and logging services. We’re at a stage now where you even have your voice recorded when you ring up to hire a suit (for training purposes, apparently.)

CCTV systems, recording calls … where does it end? Yes, I don’t need to watch Big Brother; there’s certainly enough of it in my life already.