Media in Religion and Politics
The role of popular media in furthering the politics of the day cannot possibly be underestimated. Robin Jeffrey analyses the role that technology has played in Indian elections historically and explores the potential of new digital media powered by 4G enabled phones in elections today.
New ways of communication new media disrupt conventional means of communication. They force long-accepted practices to change. Understanding both the technology and the potential of such new media give early adopters “first movers” an initial advantage in spreading their messages, changing attitudes and achieving results.
In the past, we saw such processes working slowly, both in matters of religion and politics, but in the last years of the 20th century, changes were far more rapid. The photocopier and the fax machine, technologies sometimes credited with undermining the Soviet Union, are now seen as obsolete technologies.