Virtual Political Reality's Dilemmas in Creating Political Persona Unconnected to Antecedent Imagination about Politics

Abstract

The antecedent imagination about U.S. politics has been shattered by the Capitol riot of January 6, 2021. Virtual politics’ two decades of development, experienced difficulty when hundreds of virtually empowered protesters laid siege to the U.S. Capitol disrupting the Electoral College’s confirmation of president-elect Joseph Biden. Virtual guru and incumbent president Donald Trump refused to accept the election outcome and encouraged his media conditioned following to protest. This paper is presented with a belief that the analysis contained in the paper could prove useful in pragmatic and rational adaptation to technological innovation and politics.Analysis of recent presidential elections in the U.S. has emphasized the increasing importance of virtual politics. The elections of 2008 and 2016 witnessed outcomes influenced by the candidate's ability to skillfully use virtual politics to build a dependable following. Little is known of how virtual reality influences behavior. The January 6 Capitol riot is presented as an example of virtual bonding in politics gone wrong. The paper follows the events of January 6 and the public opinion generated by the riot. Maturation effects in public opinion over months are observed. Contending public opinion influences including institutions, political parties, mainstream media, social media, and Internet personalities are mentioned. Analysis is included about the uncertainty resulting from 520 unresolved criminal riot cases. Differences in how Democrats and Republicans perceive various issues are noted.Since the Capitol riot is likely to be compared to other events such as Arab Spring, a research design about virtual empowerment is included. Theoretical sampling allows an image sample presenting rioters’ use of mobile devices. Interpretive techniques analyze this data. Two possible explanations for the empowerment emerge. First, mobile devices are seen as keeping rioters connected with reliable political information. Second, virtual reality is theorized to catalyze with the public place. Cognitive mechanisms may compel action as virtual reality and public place interact. Data analysis procedures to supplement interpretivism of the visual data, cognitive mapping is suggested. Placing each riot image on a graph analyzing two dimensions, political information and ethnography, was mentioned as a possibility for improved data analysis.