Enslaved by New Technology

I'm sitting here reading a paper by Edwin Parker from 1973: Implications of New Information Technology. He addresses the impending digital divide and notes that new technologies--even if well meaning--often serve to widen the divide because the lower class only has access to older technology while the upper class has all the benefits. In particular, Parker mentions resistance to cable television. In the intervening years, it seems that the 'new technology' of cable has completely penetrated the lower class and has enslaved them with marketing messages and consumer credit.

At what point did cable go from being a new technology for the rarified enclaves of the elite to a disciplinary tool for the prole?

JSTOR Link to the original article (membership req'd)