The risks of new technologies in Black Mirror

The use of modern technologies has meant a complete revolution of modern societies. This revolution goes beyond purely technological aspects, changing our behaviors and opening the door to new risks. The British TV series Black Mirror, one of the most successful dystopias dealing with technology in the current television scenario, deepens into the different uses and effects of those technologies, allowing the identification of possible risks that come together with the new socio-technological paradigms. To study this, a content analysis of all 22 chapters broadcasted until today was conducted. We observed that social media, smartphones and tablets and technological implants in humans are the most present technologies; technology is depicted under a rather negative perspective in the series, with generally negative effects over societies, and full of risks. The most relevant of them are the loss of privacy or security, the lack of distinction between the real and the virtual world and the development of addictive behaviors. The similarities with the reality of the target public make this series a potential tool to educate or warn about those matters.