Jessica L. Olivares, Ph.D., postdoctoral fellow at the Institute for Bioethics & Health Humanities (IBHH) and the Center for Addiction Sciences and Therapeutics (CAST), has published a chapter in Technocreep: The Politics of the Unseen (Duke University Press, 2025).
The chapter, titled “Surveillance Vigilantes: Property, Porch Pirates, and Paranoia on Nextdoor,” explores how hyperlocalized social media platforms like Nextdoor enable everyday users to act as informal surveillance agents, fostering paranoia, racial profiling, and a reassertion of property as whiteness. As an alternative, the chapter imagines possible futures where homeplace is grounded in care and collectivity. The chapter contributes to ongoing interdisciplinary conversations about the ethics of surveillance, privacy, and racial justice in both healthcare and everyday life.
Learn more about the book Technocreep: The Politics of the Unseen https://www.dukeupress.edu/technocreep-and-the-politics-of-things-not-seen.
The full citation is: Olivares, Jessica L. “Surveillance Vigilantes: Property, Porch Pirates, and Paranoia on Nextdoor” in Technocreep and the Politics of Things Not Seen, Neda Atanasoski and Nassim Jafarinaimi, eds. Durham, NC: Duke University Press. 2025. https://doi.org/10.1215/9781478060239.