Slightly off topic but I would like to recommend you to read Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman. In it, he posits that the advent of television is the primary driving force behind image-based politics. It's full of astute observations and generally relevant frameworks in which to discuss these types of effects in society. It was also written in 1985 but everything is even easier to observe now.

It's a good book, is what I'm saying.