Panopticon was originally a prison designed to allow very pew people the ability to observe all inmates at one time without the inmates being able to see the observer. Hence lines like "Can you see us? Are we there?" The prison rooms themselves were to be backlit to keep all prisoners in isolation. This song is about the idea that us thinking someone is always watching negates the necessity for there to actually be someone watching and how stifling it is to live with someone watching.
Panopticon was originally a prison designed to allow very pew people the ability to observe all inmates at one time without the inmates being able to see the observer. Hence lines like "Can you see us? Are we there?" The prison rooms themselves were to be backlit to keep all prisoners in isolation. This song is about the idea that us thinking someone is always watching negates the necessity for there to actually be someone watching and how stifling it is to live with someone watching.