School, Community and Teacher

Assignment week 8
Instructor: Dr. Sharik
Student: Abdur Rehman
B.Ed. semester 5
Question: How positively or negatively media are affecting our culture and youth?

“ Answer:
Media are the reflection of our society and it depicts what and how society works.
Media helps in making people informed. It also helps in entertaining the public,
educate and make people aware of the current happenings. Media has today
become the voice of our society. There is a variety of media platform that has
stimulated the thoughts of the young generation and other sections of our society.
Media can be classified in three categories, first Print Media which includes
Newspapers, Magazines, Booklets and Brochures, House Magazines, Periodicals or
Newsletters, Direct Mailers, Handbills or Flyers, Billboards, Press Releases, Books.
Second type is Electronic Media which includes Television, Radio, and Films. Third
types of media are New Age Media includes Mobile Phones, Computers, Social
media and Internet. Media is also broadly classified in two types visual and non-
visual on the basis of its nature, scope, and effectiveness on the society. Whole of
media is compressed in a single notion term known as Mass Media. “Mass media”
as the name suggests is the media which reach the mass spread over a vast area
simultaneously.
These different types of media have their specific characteristics on the basis of
reach, audience, and accessibility.
Print media like newspapers and magazines influence people, such as politicians
and policy makers who often turn to print media for their news, intended to reach
general public.
Radio is available to a broad audience which is suitable to communicate local
information. It has an entertainment function but also a venue for serious
discussions. It’s having Strong ability for interaction with call-in shows.
Television is medium for serious news or for entertainment, depending on the
outlet; some talk shows and news broadcasts are intended to entertain and to
inform, which require strong visuals for the effective communications.
Internet is the online media, like blogs, and social media. It is very effective in
developed countries for communication and receiving the information, but low rate
of accessibility. In developing countries, it can quickly disseminate (accurate or
inaccurate) information globally.

Impact of Media on Culture & Youth:

Media has got a great influence on the cultural patterns of the society depending on
the way respond to the influence. The role of men and women in the society has
been greatly defined by the media and in the process affecting both intercultural
and international communication. Media plays a crucial role in shaping public
perceptions on variety of important issues, both the information that is dispensed
through them, and through the interpretation they place upon this information.
They also play a large role in shaping modern culture, by portraying a particular set
of beliefs, values, and traditions as reality.
Society & Culture is affected by the media multifariously. Media plays its role
effectively in the following areas:
 Information:
Media as purveyors of news and views have a decisive role of preparing the
human race for the 21th Century. Media organization expand access to
information. The world became closer and cohesive due to transmission of
information. Within seconds information reaches every nook and corner of all
countries. Everyone knows everything happening everywhere.
 Public Watch Dog:
Media have played a leading role in shaping, guiding and reflecting the public
opinion. The functions of media help to establish democracy. A well-
developed media system, informing and teaching its citizens, helps
democracy move towards its ideal state.
 Entertainment:
The media has monopolized the leisure industry. Literature, music drama,
dance sport, interaction with resourceful persons, culture entertainments etc.
The media play a large role in shaping modern culture.
 Education:
The overall human development is directly related to education. Media
enable the spread of education through conventional as well as
unconventional methods.
 Economic Growth:
Media can be used for both the social and business concerns. They can
include advertising, marketing, propaganda, public relations and political
communication. The market for goods expands and economic growth takes
place through advertisements in media. A health media keeps a wealthy
nation on development track.

Any sort of technological advancement, after all, has both its pros and cons in the
context of social change. Technological advancements, especially the changing role
of the mass media, have a lasting impact on molding cultural attributes—ways of
thought, attitude and lifestyles.

Positive Effects:
Media increase social awareness in youth and develop their concern towards society
by its programs in multi modalities on social issues. It contribute to the
enhancement of knowledge, language and vocabulary. It enable children to be
creative and dynamic in their thinking. Media contributes to development of people’s
minds and attitudes, widening knowledge and culture via programs on history,
literature, science, philosophy and art and culture. Media are responsible for
influencing a major part of our daily life. It contribute to a transformation in the
cultural and social values of the masses. The persuasive nature of the content
presented over media influences lifestyle and culture. Media has given us an
excellent platform to present ourselves before the world and contribute in our own
way to the changing world scenario. Media has been responsible for making the
world a smaller place to live in. The media has played a major role in positive
developments like the fight against racism gender bias, and world poverty, and
spreading awareness about the need for world peace.
Negative Effects:
Every coin has two sides Positive or negative, same is the media, it also have
negative effects on culture & youth. The cultural values that the media supports
and which are taking root in society in modern times are superficial and oriented
towards money and glamour because the values media emphasizes are
materialistic; and the people who embody them are largely superficial and artificial.
Negative effects such as extreme objectivity, consumerism, youth’s blind imitation
of their role models, changing mental set-up and the declining quality of their
lifestyle, innocence of children is being lost at an early age due to movies,
televisions, music & songs, changing cultural and moral values of society, young
generation has lost difference between “Reel” & “Real” world, media has created a
sense of hyper-reality: the reality of television seems to be more real to viewers
than ‘then’ real reality. The growing popularity of media encourages a homogenized
culture, where cultural identity is becoming ever so fragile. Negative effect does not
only influence individuals but also nations such as negative projection of the
country, Pursuance of foreign agenda in youth of nation, controlling the narrative of
communities, causing desperation amongst nations, modifying culture into
complete new form which bring threat to prior cultural entities. Another devastating
negative effect is youth, culture & society is isolation, loneliness & lack of real
socialization, we expect more from technologies but less expect from real humans,
we socialize on social media with virtual friends in thousands but in real we have no
friends. Our technologies & media sources have taken place of real relationships.
We are connected with whole world, yet we are alone.

In conclusion, it is important to note that the media has a very important role in shaping our culture. The
media has promoted globalization and in the end people from different nationalities and cultures are
able to exchange values and ideas that are beneficial to their lives. The media will continue to influence
people’s way of life both in the present and in the future. ”

References:
 http://www.yourarticlelibrary.com/
 Purvis, Tony. Get Set for Media and Cultural Studies. New York: Edinburgh University Press, 2006. Print.
 Siapera, Eugenia. Cultural Diversity and Global Media: The Mediation of Difference. New York: Jon Wiley and Sons, 2010. Print.
 https://mediaculturesociety.org/2013/01/29/does-technology-impact-culture/