Biopolitics, Digital Surveillance, and the Transformation of the Family

Authors : Muhammed Ramazan Demirci
Pages : 525-544
Doi:10.31592/aeusbed.1809352
View : 15 | Download : 3
Publication Date : 2026-02-28
Article Type : Research Paper
Abstract :This article explores the transformation of the family in the digital age through Michel Foucault’s concepts of biopolitics and surveillance, integrating complementary perspectives from Shoshana Zuboff, Gilles Deleuze, Donna Haraway, Zygmunt Bauman, and David Lyon. The study argues that the family, historically a site of intimacy and socialization, has become a key biopolitical and surveillance mechanism that integrates individuals into digital regimes of power. Drawing on Foucault’s notion of disciplinary power and Deleuze’s concept of control societies, the article conceptualizes the “digital family” as both an agent and object of surveillance capitalism. Within this framework, algorithmic systems restructure parenting, reshape privacy boundaries, and mediate intra-family trust through data-driven technologies. The article also analyzes global variations across liberal democracies, hybrid regimes, and authoritarian contexts, demonstrating that the digital family is politically contingent rather than universal. While the state uses e-government infrastructures to monitor populations, the market exploits family-generated data for profit, creating overlapping pressures on autonomy and privacy. Yet families also develop micro-level resistance strategies—through digital literacy, selective technology use, and ethical awareness. Methodologically, the article adopts a comparative theoretical approach that synthesizes fragmented debates in sociology, political science, and digital studies. It concludes that the family, far from dissolving in the digital era, is reconstituted as a hybrid institution where biopolitical regulation, market surveillance, and resistance coexist.
Keywords : Biyopolitika, Dijital Aile, Gözetim Kapitalizmi, Algoritmik Ebeveynlik, Michel Foucault

ORIGINAL ARTICLE URL