Digital society and the Frankfurt School predictions

Abstract

The Frankfurt school philosophers, observing technological advances, announced that the mass media are dangerous tools in the service of the capitalist system, they believed in the power of these tools to influence ideas and wills. Of these for a long time, television ended up being the most present and with the greatest possibility to influence due to its high acceptance in society and the high investment in advertising by companies. The internet evolves and threatens this sovereignty, digital media are tools that have similarities with the traditional medium, but bring better mechanisms. These tools also gave voice to the population, ceasing to be a spectator to become a user or content creator, opening the possibility of rising as a celebrity without the sponsorship of the media as a requirement. In view of the facts exposed, this article will discuss whether the Internet is an environment of freedom or another tool of the cultural industry.