One of the theories I heard for why the Civil Rights Act was passed was because of the invention of smaller hand held cameras, that brought images of America’s racism directly into the homes of an international audience, almost in real time. The Civil Rights Act passed because America, which had always touted itself as a bastion of freedom and equality, was afraid for its global reputation, and some countries (Russia) were rightfully calling out this country’s hypocrisy.

The theory goes that as the technology advances and becomes ubiquitous, changes in society tend to follow. We’re seeing this actually happen right now, I think. The technology has definitely had an effect on societal attitudes.