I admit it. If there were a “mommy cam” in our house, it would have captured me more than once kicking a dropped piece of broken ice under the refrigerator late at night instead of bending down, picking it up and throwing it in the sink.

If you’re as old as I, you’ve seen an episode of the original “Candid Camera.” If you’re a younger reader, just imagine a show kind of like “America’s Funniest Home Videos” but with staged situations and a popular host, who caught “average” people totally off guard because they had no idea they were being filmed in awkward situations.

I found myself running around this past holiday season totally aware that I was being filmed every step of the way. No, I’m no big celebrity being stalked by the paparazzi. I’m just your average plain Jane who was caught on security cameras throughout the city trying to make Santa happen for all who needed him.

From red light cameras, to shopping malls, to being surrounded with crowds of people with iPhones, there is hardly any way to not escape being caught on video these days. Which is really a drag, because I was getting pretty used to not wearing makeup unless I had to. But now? Golly gee whiz, I’m afraid to go out without lipstick on.

I made a mad dash of it the Friday before Christmas and literally hit seven stores during one outing. I’m one of those shoppers who knows what she wants/needs, plans her route, and gets in and out as quickly as possible. You will not ever find me strolling around a crowded mall just for the heck of it.

As I left the last store, I thought back on my successful shopping accomplishments of the day. Then I realized I had actual proof of all I had done.

If something actually happened to me and I, or someone else, needed to prove where I had been and what I had done, they could. All they would need to do is pull the security video footage ala “NCSI” or “The Closer.”

“She went from Macy’s, to Barnes & Noble, to Tom Thumb… ,” the lead detective would say as he briefed the other squad members. “And she rocked in the parking lot at North Park,” they would have to add, because I had.

But you know what? That ability to watch my every movement, whether I wanted to be watched or not, kind of reminds me of being in George Orwell’s “1984.” It was a book we all had to read in, what, eighth grade? Keep in mind, this was the 70s. After reading that brilliant writer’s dire predictions we were all actually freaked out by the thought of others watching our every move in the future. Now society seems to thrive on it. Be sure to check in with FourSquare. Don’t forget to update your Facebook page. Text the person next to you now.

I was blown away when my 14-year-old son showed me all his different online accounts: From Moodle to Mindcraft, Call of Duty to “The Daily Show,” Facebook, YouTube, Google, AOL. I didn’t know what half the sites were for or about. But here we are. Welcome to 2012. My how times have changed. And it’s all captured on video for everyone to see. Smile!