Not that I'm defending current practices, but if we ever get to mandatory mass surveillance it will definitely be worse than covert mass surveillance that the most informed citizens can still choose to avoid.
With 1984, at least, the book implies that the proles had some measure of freedom from surveillance (though the plot also suggests that it's still there but more surreptitious). Short of living on a commune and totally removing yourself from the broader economy, what can people actually do to avoid NSA surveillance as it exists today, let alone a decade from now?
It's pretty easy for any two informed citizens to avoid those means of communication. When you're corresponding with someone who doesn't care if the government spies on them, no level of paranoia will keep your messages private.
The difference is that in 1984, the cameras were put there by the government. Today, people themselves unknowingly put those cameras there.