1984 also wasn't about being watched at all times, it was about how the government had _the potential to_ watch its citizens at any time. And how the citizens changed their behaviors due to this. I mean the government doesn't watch you in the bathrooms, but they are scraping all internet info, have a lot of cameras, and are even flying planes in the sky to record data. People may not be watching those things, but they do exist. I think the big difference is that most citizens aren't aware of this level of invasion into their lives and they haven't really changed their behaviors because of it. That's probably the biggest difference between 1984.