What is the role of technology in "Harrison Bergeron"?

Kurt Vonnegut’s 1961 short story “Harrison Bergeron” centers on a society dedicated to absurd levels of equality. The opening lines of Vonnegut’s story provide the setting and an introduction to the use of technology in the story:

THE YEAR WAS 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anyone else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anyone else.

This radical equality is available only through the advanced technology and “vigilance” of an agency called the Handicapper General. Rather than valuing talent, this fictional society has opted to crush it to ensure equality of outcome. The responsibilities of The Handicapper General involve installing and monitoring creative “handicaps” on individuals to ensure that they do not rise above the pack and become overly talented. Some of these handicaps are physical, such as adding weights to those who are stronger or masks to those who are more attractive than the majority. Other handicaps are more technologically advanced, such as the handicap for intelligence, which constituted a buzzer installed in the ear that emitted sharp screeches of energy every few seconds to disrupt concentration. Without the use of technology, the entire equality of Vonnegut’s society would quickly collapse.

Technology is also used in “Harrison Bergeron” to closely monitor society and push propaganda that supports the dominant narrative of equality into the pliant minds of the citizenry. George and Hazel, the two dominant characters, spend the entirety of the plot watching television and encounter propaganda frequently. In their conversation together, both characters parrot the rhetoric that has been drilled into them. George, for example, hates his intelligence handicap but refuses to take it off because he says, “The minute people start cheating on laws, what do you think happens to society?” This shows the degree to which the propaganda has been successful.

In fact, they seem so indoctrinated that Hazel, who witnesses the death of her fourteen-year-old son on live television, cannot remember why she is crying just minutes later. Without the aid of advanced technology for propaganda and the numerous handicaps holding the “equality” of the civilization together, Vonnegut’s futuristic society would collapse. I hope this helps!

Technology is present in the story in the form of the "mental-handicap radio" that George is required to wear at all times and the television broadcasts supervised by the government. The radio George wears is "tuned to a government transmitter" that frequently and regularly sends out a "sharp noise" to disrupt George's thinking because George's intelligence is above average and must be controlled. The more dangerous George's thoughts, the more severe the noise pounded into his brain. Sometimes the radio emits a low tone, "like somebody hitting a milk bottle with a bell-peen hammer," but a really dangerous train of thought will earn him "a twenty-one-gun salute." This fact indicates that the government possesses the technology to tell not just that George is thinking but what he is thinking. 

The television broadcasts are controlled strictly by the government. People are allowed to see what the government wants them to see. After Harrison escapes, a police photo of him garbed in all his "handicaps" is shown so that he might be apprehended. When Harrison himself takes over the studio, the chaos is such that television transmission continues, showing Harrison's revolt. After he and the ballerina are both shot to death and order is restored, however, George and Hazel's television set suddenly quits working. Obviously, the government had resumed control.

The role of technology in the story is to emphasize the totalitarianism of the government.

What is the role of media in "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut Jr.?

In Kurt Vonnegut, Jr's "Harrison Bergeron," the media, like everything, is meant to promote and ensure equality. There are a couple of instances where the reader can see the media in action.

The first example of the role of media is in the decription of George Bergeron. He wears a tiny radio reciever in his ear that emits harsh noises to interrupt his thoughts every few seconds. These noises are meant to keep intelligent people, like George, "from taking unfair advantage of their brains." By constantly keeping people with the ability to think from thinking, the government-run media, in effect, keeps people from questioning whether the government is doing things right or that are really good for the people.

The second glimpse at the media is the broadcast of the ballet that is interrupted by a news bulletin. This broadcast gives the reader a clearer vision of what this government's version of "equality" really is and the result of it. For one thing, we see that because of the government-issued handicaps, no one is able to excel at anything. None of the dancers can reach their real potential because they are weighted down by government-issued sacks of bird shot. The announcer "like all announcers, had a serious speech impediment," and has difficulty even speaking, much less giving the news in a clear manner. The person in control of the video is so incompetant that s/he puts the picture of Harrison "upside down, then sideways, then upside down again, then right side up" on the screen.

All these examples of the "equality" that has been mandated that are broadcast over the television show the devistating effects of that supposed equality--mediocrity is the highest to which anyone can aspire, and even mediocrity is probably unattainable when too many restraints are put on people.

Finally, the media is meant to inform the government of any straying from the laws. Diana Moon Glampers, despite the incompetence of the newspeople, knows exactly where to find Harrison and silence him. This is probably the most frightening aspect of how the goverment uses the media to control the people.

For more information about the story "Harrison Bergeron" see the links below. The first link seems to directly address your question with this discussion of television:

In "Harrison Bergeron", Vonnegut uses some of the ideas Minow discussed, particularly when he portrays television as a desensitizing, numbing, and definitely a thought-stifling—rather than thought provoking—medium. When Harrison goes to the television station instead of to the Legislature to start his revolution, Vonnegut illustrates that awesome power Minow describes in his speech. Vonnegut seems to say that Harrison's power to reach the people and make a new reality (declaring himself emperor) stems from controlling television. Clearly, the government, or at least the Handicapper General, also understands that power.

I hope this answer is helpful.