Impact Of Media On Society

Trisha Chakravorty**,,

Media- the fastest and the most entertaining medium to communicate is reaching the sky in a speedy manner. In the last 50 years, media influence has grown rapidly with an advance in technology. First there was the radio, then the newspapers, magazines, television and now the internet. Today, we all live in a media-dominated world. Media is a way for the members of the society to keep themselves informed about what is happening around them. It is also the major source of entertainment.  The technology is remarkably advancing with each passing day. But as said, ‘every action has an equal and opposite reaction’, media has an immediate impact and effect on society.

Any medium be it graphics, or audio or visuals creates a strong effect on the minds of individual. The children are very much glued to television programmes. Any horror, thriller, crime, adult, etc show effects the small brain drastically and that brings a drastic change in their psychology building. But the programmes that are fit to their age can bring them to an interactive world and enrich their knowledge.

The youth also are very much attached to the mass medium through which they communicate and lead their daily life. Media works as a daily day partner where people and the media walk hand in hand. This relationship makes each other complete. By creating an image appealing to the youth, media controls the variety of material youth incorporate in their daily lives. Their images, which mostly consist of sexuality, violence, coarse language and revealing clothing, have a negative impact on the youth. Media should be forbidden from advertising and telecasting shows pertaining to violence, sex and unhealthy living because it plays an important role in shaping the opinions of the younger generation.
Media violence has lead to increased rates of youth violence. Exposure to violence in the movies, video games and music videos increases the likelihood of physical and verbal aggressive and violent behaviour, thoughts and emotions in youth.   Researchers have examined various communities before and after the introduction of television, to find a link between violence and real-life aggression. The mass media delivers idea and the people act as an prism which observe all the ideas and store in their memory. These ideas are used in their daily life practically which has given them positive results most of the time. Ideas such as peace march has worked extensively in Indian society.

Media on the political arena also has an exciting role. It supports or stands against any issue which directly or indirectly creates public opinion. The role of media on the issue largely matters on the public opinion. The anti- corruption movement by Anna Hazare is a burning example on how public opinion is created by media. The momentum it gained is all the work and strategy of media and its strategy of hitting the emotion of the Indians. Media has a strong role in shaping the national politics.

     Media called as the fourth pillar of the constitution, truly act as the watch dog and safeguard the society from various evil deeds. Media too indulge itself in corruption. But with all its power and social responsibility, it has sometimes put itself in an adverse situation. It has also affected the human minds negatively while even working positively to build a better place to live in. Thus control of media must be such that it should not become an obstruction towards nation building while protecting the national security and peace of the country.

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 Trisha Chakravorty,

Student : Mass Communication and Journalism from Babasaheb Bhimrao Ambedkar University (A Central University) Lucknow.

*Disclaimer: The views expressed by the author in this feature are entirely her own and do not necessarily reflect the views of INVC