In summary; Orwell feared censorship and centralised control of information, while Huxley feared so much information that people wouldn't engage in what really mattered. In a South Africa with proposed legislation to allow the government to declare some information so secret that it cannot be covered by the media (even if it meets the criteria of in the public interest), proposals to start censoring parts of the internet and a media tribunal to circumvent the existing ombudsman, it's easy to think Orwell is right. In many ways he is, and provides a haunting view of the dystopia this could become. However, there's no dichotomy here; Huxley's view is an equally important reminder of what we should do with the freedoms we have.

Personally, I find I could spend a whole day on Twitter/Facebook/IRC etc. I don't believe just using those technologies is a waste of time, in-fact I believe they can provide many benefits. However, it is easy to get trapped into constantly checking them and the inevitable meaningless interactions this leads to. Of course not every minute of the day can be spent in a productive rapture, but I wonder how much more we could achieve if we used them to better our collaboration as much as we better our cognitive load shedding. A potent reminder that freedom is worth nothing if not used.

What's more, from a privacy perspective; while it's right to worry about oppressive regimes and creepy attempts at implementing the panopticon (Orwell), it's as right, if not more pertinent, to worry about the privacy invasion from the tools and companies we love (Gmail, Facebook, Twitter etc.).