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Single word that depicts the fear of being secretly photographed/surveyed without consent

English Language & Usage Asked on November 17, 2020

I am looking for a single word that depicts the fear of cameras/video recording devices (spy cameras or surveillance cameras, for example).

To provide additional context, I am writing a short story on “Threats faced by Women”, in which a character is afraid of being constantly photographed/surveyed without her consent.

Example sentence:

Sravani’s ________phobic, incessantly frightful about being secretly photographed in Trial Rooms at Clothing Stores.

I searched within ELU and elsewhere. But I could not find a word that matches my requirement accurately.

8 Answers

According to the following source there is no specific term for the phobia of being photographed:

  • Technically, a phobia is a fear that is connected to a specific, identifiable object or situation. And although some “lists” of phobias total over 100 items, there is no specific term for a fear of being photographed per se. There are some terms related to the fear of bright lights or of technical equipment such as cameras, but no specific term that is generally accepted which describes the fear of having one’s picture taken.

(askthepsych.com)

You may use the more general:

Scopophobia, scoptophobia, or ophthalmophobia

  • is an anxiety disorder characterized by a morbid fear of being seen or stared at by others. Scopophobia can also be associated with a pathological fear of drawing attention to oneself.

(wikipedia)

Correct answer by user66974 on November 17, 2020

Perhaps, you could substitute it for the fear of being watched/observed. From wikipedia,

Scopophobia, scoptophobia, or ophthalmophobia is an anxiety disorder characterized by a morbid fear of being seen or stared at by others

Answered by Chris Gong on November 17, 2020

To me, the best word is surveillance-phobic.

When used, your example sentence will look as follows:

Sravani is surveillance-phobic, incessantly frightful about being secretly photographed in Trial Rooms at Clothing Stores.

Hope this meets your purpose.

Answered by Dinesh Kumar Garg on November 17, 2020

You could consider using "fear of voyeurism" which fits in the context where she might be secretly photographed/video-recorded by a voyeur/Peeping Tom.

Voyeurism is the sexual interest in or practice of spying on people engaged in intimate behaviors, such as undressing, sexual activity, or other actions usually considered to be of a private nature.[1]

The voyeur does not normally interact directly with the subject of his/her interest, who is often unaware of being observed. The essence of voyeurism is the observing but may also involve the making of a secret photograph or video of the subject during an intimate activity.

Your example:

Sravani has fear of voyeurism, incessantly frightful about being secretly photographed in Trial Rooms at Clothing Stores.

Or "fear of Peeping Tom":

A person who watches another without the other's permission and usually without the other's knowledge, especially for the purpose of deriving sexual pleasure from the sight of the other.

[Wikipedia, Wiktionary]

Answered by user140086 on November 17, 2020

If you are "stuck" on one-word options, you might need to limit yourself to neologisms, such as the following:

  • videophobe

  • cameraphobe

  • photophobe (or photophobic)

On the other hand, if you're willing to step outside the box, you might consider

  • surveillance phobia (surveillance phobic) [great minds think alike, Dinesh Kumar Garg!)

  • photographic paranoia (or phobia)

  • filmic paranoia (or phobia)

  • Peeping Tom phobia

Answered by rhetorician on November 17, 2020

As others have stated, there is no specific term for fear of secret cameras or being supervised.

If acceptable, you could use a neologism; coin a new term.

Since phobia names come from Greekthanks to @AakashM and Latin, you can add up two words.

For instance, vigilare means to supervise or to monitor in Latin. By adding -phobia to it we get vigilophobia.

If you want to take a Greek root, the επιβλέπω (epivlépo) means supervise. So I guess you could use epivlepophobia.

However, vigilophobia gives one result on Google, while epivlepophobe doesn't.

If you know Greek, please correct me if I am wrong.

Answered by Veo on November 17, 2020

Fotografizophobia - is the only work I know which means to have an unreasoning fear of photographs or of having your photograph taken. I have never encountered anyone with this phobia nor found a documented case of someone having an actual phobia of having their photograph taken, though I am aware of and have met people who will culturally not allow themselves to be photographed as their beliefs state they lose a portion/all of their soul, or that their soul is bound every/any time a photograph is taken.

Answered by GMasucci on November 17, 2020

I think shutter-shy ought to do the job by itself.

Answered by EvilTeach on November 17, 2020

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