TV is dead: the rise of news disconnection

TV is dead: the rise of news disconnection

Traditional television is dying, and that is no metaphor. More and more people openly declare that they no longer watch it, and that void does not stay empty: it gets filled with podcasts, YouTube channels, social media and, yes, conspiracy theories. The phenomenon is not new, but the credibility crisis facing mainstream media has accelerated it to the point where "not watching TV" has become a statement of principles.

Scepticism as a religion

Those who switch off the TV usually do so not for lack of time, but out of active distrust of the official narrative. The recurring argument is that the big channels manipulate, conceal or oversimplify. In this ecosystem of disaffection, any alternative content — from the most rigorous to the most far-fetched — finds a receptive audience. Estela, for example, have gone from being an oddity of fringe forums to a topic anyone can stumble upon in their Telegram feed.

Is there any way back?

The television industry is trying to adapt with streaming platforms and digital formats, but the underlying problem is not technological: it is one of trust. As long as news broadcasts continue to be perceived as just another product, the exodus of viewers towards the informational periphery will keep growing. The future is not more TV, but more fragmentation. And in that fragmentation, certainties dissolve.