Analyse the significance of the convergence of the smartphone with mass communication technology
It is without a doubt that smartphones have revolutionised the way we behave and communicate. It makes it so much easier for us to spread messages and document events. One event that was widely documented by ordinary people using their smartphones was the January 6 insurrection in the United States.
Even before the protest happened, smartphones played a key role in the organisation of protesters. This was aided with social media platforms like 4chan and Twitter, in which the latter was used by Donald Trump to incite the protests. The fact that pretty much everyone owns a smartphone, in the United States at least, meant that everyone had access to such information, and it spread amongst the Trump supporters and others like wildfire.
During the protest, hundreds and thousands of people were documenting the event on their smartphones through livestreaming and recording. These recordings were posted online on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. As a result of this, the world quickly learnt of this incident and news organisations hastily reported on it.
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/02/05/opinion/capitol-attack-cellphone-data.html
