Nowadays, such technology as television is already becoming obsolete and is receding into the background. However, it still has a relatively strong influence on public opinion. Television had direct relevance to the events of January 6, which ended with the Capitol attack, on an equal footing with social networks. Thus, the Capitol Insurrection is examined through the lens of the social sciences because of the community processes that took place at the time, and the involvement of TV in its causes is significant.
On January 6, after the 45th president’s speech at a White House rally, in which he once again demanded not to recognize the election results, his supporters went to Capitol Hill and stormed the building of Congress. As a result of what happened, several people were killed, and many were injured. The background to these events could be seen much earlier on television and social media. Although spreading this conspiracy theory on social media did the most damage, many of the posts included excerpts from the TV channels that were apparent supporters of the incumbent at the time. Moreover, for example, residents of rural areas statistically have fewer devices per person, but there is a TV in almost every home (Vogels, 2021). As a result, they are highly vulnerable to possible misinformation via the TV method as it is the favorite and most important tool of some politics.
The popularity of various conspiracy theories, whether rumors of election fraud leading to a riot in Congress, or fictional harm to the 5G network, is gaining momentum. Theories of that type have always existed, but it is only with the advent of technology that they can overwhelm society overnight (Grunwald, 2018). Most people, while unwilling to give up the comforts of technology, worry about the possibility of violating their civil liberties and privacy (Naikoo et al., 2018). When working with listeners, TV presenters can shape the opinions of their audiences and indoctrinate them that citizens’ liberties are in danger. In the case of insurrection, conspiracy theories about possible election fraud were actively promoted on several TV channels starting the previous year. Since television is no longer a one-way technology but an interactive one, it still influences a big part of society (Little et al., 2016). What has happened must be viewed through the lens of the social sciences because the primary purpose of modern television is to shape and manage the opinions of society. In this situation, the choice of perspective is not difficult since the event in question is the consequence of television’s infusion of special information into the audience, which has caused a social breakdown.
References
Grunwald, A. (2018). Technology assessment in practice and theory. Routledge.
Little, W., McGivern, R., & Kerins, N. (2016). Introduction to sociology – 2nd Canadian edition. BC Campus.
Naikoo, A. A., Thakur, S. S., Guroo, T. A., & Lone, A. A. (2018). Development of society under the modern technology – a review. Scholedge International Journal of Business Policy & Governance, 5(1), 1-8.
Vogels, E. A. (2021). Some digital divides persist between rural, urban and suburban America.Pew Research Center. Web.