See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/355773140

TELEVISION AND NIGERIAN CULTURAL VALUES: THE SYMBIOSIS AND SOCIAL

IMPACTS

Article · October 2021

CITATIONS READS

5 1,651

1 author:

Ubong Andem Obong

Taraba State University
18 PUBLICATIONS 12 CITATIONS

SEE PROFILE

All content following this page was uploaded by Ubong Andem Obong on 30 October 2021.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Equatorial Journal of Communication Technology, 2 (1): 9 - 19
Journal Homepage: www.erjournals.com
ISSN: 0184-7937

TELEVISION AND NIGERIAN CULTURAL

VALUES: THE SYMBIOSIS AND SOCIAL IMPACTS
OBONG, UBONG ANDEM
Department of Mass Communication, Trinity Polytechnic, Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria. Email:
ubongandems@gmail.com

ABSTRACT
This paper critiques the social impact of television on Nigerian cultural values. The work adopts a
library research approach to deliver its substance. It starts by defining culture as a unique and total
way of life of a people in a social group that defines and set the group apart from other social groups.
Then, it delves into ideals considered to be indices of Nigerian cultural values. Television and culture
are treated as symbiotic bed-fellows. To provide underpinning to the subject matter of the paper, the
Media/Cultural Imperialism and Cultivation Analysis theories are set as theoretical footholds to the
discourse that unfolds. The paper thus, submits that television is both functional and dysfunctional to
Nigerian cultural. This implies that the impact of television is ambivalent: prosocial and anti-social
depending on the prism one tends to base his/her argument. Pro-socially, television has served
entertainment, information and education functions as well as engendering socialisation and family
integration. Anti-socially, television has promoted indecency, obscenity, immorality, language
pollution, disintegration from social life, interfamilial disruption, violence, crime, materialism,
consumerism and cultural stereotyping. While the pro-social impacts are ennobling to Nigerian
cultural values, the anti-social impacts debase the Nigerian cultural values.

How to cite this article: Obong, U. N. (2019). Television and Nigerian cultural values: the symbiosis
and social impacts. Equatorial Journal of Communication Technology, 2 (1): 9 - 19

KEYWORDS: Television; Nigerian cultural values; Symbiosis; Social impacts; Cultivation analysis;
Media imperialism.

argument whether media contents are in themselves

Introduction
Media contents are culturally-laden whether
implicitly or explicitly. There is no media content
that is free of one cultural element or the other. The
mediated cultural elements can either benefit or harm
their recipient or host culture especially if they are
from foreign sources. Here, lies the weight of the
beneficial or disastrous to people’s culture.
This contentious debate therefore gives rise to
various schools of thought arguing for and against
the motion that the media exert some sort of
(negative, positive or neutral) impact on culture.
From the prism of media and cultural imperialism
proponents, the media exert negative impact on
culture thereby creating a serious threat to cultural
identity, independence and homogeneity. Their fear

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3380939

 Obong (2019)
is that the media impose cultural colonisation and
engender cultural bastardisation or what Schaefer
(2012, p. 55) refers to as “cultural genocide”.
For the proponents of acculturation, the media
and their corresponding cultural contents are to
strengthen the lapses of a culture. Here, the cultural
products the media avail such culture are not seen as
being disastrous but solely for cultural corroboration
or inter-marriage between an alien and a host culture.
The middle-ground school, instead of proposing or
opposing the debate simply stands on the fence and
judges both sides of the argument fairly by
Equatorial Journal of Communication Technology
suggesting a middle-ground where their propositions
and oppositions can be tolerated.
No matter which side of the arguments one tends
to support, it should not be dismissed in a hurry that
the media are the vehicles through which cultural
elements can be transported (even to where the
cultural elements are not wanted). Thus, a society
that keeps its cultural windows carelessly open to
foreign contents transported by the foreign media is
at the risk of cultural permutation, and worst still,
cultural alienation or erosion. Hence, the extent to
which such culture may be infiltrated or
predominated by foreign values, norms, beliefs,
traditions, lifestyles, etc. becomes limitless and has
great social impact on indigenous cultural values.
Though the society cannot function properly
without the media, some of the contents that the
media bring to the society’s gaze and attention are
culturally disturbing and unfit. Of all the media of
mass communication, television has evolved into a
potent social force to be reckoned with in the
transmission of socio-cultural values and norms in a
civilised society (Ekeanyanwu and Usaini, 2017).
Coupled with its ability to communicate and relay a
story simultaneously through a blend of sound, sound
effects, motion picture, colour, music, animation and
sound effects into one message, television shows the
realities of what is happening at the time and can be
Equatorial Journal of Communication Technology
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3380939
used to package culture (Ogbuoshi, 2005; Hasan,
2013; Ejem, 2016). Baran (2004) considers it as a
‘radio with pictures’ and ‘magazine with motion’. Its
uniqueness makes its messages more compelling,
interesting and believable. Little wonder people all
over the world patronises television services
unabated (Nkana, 2004).
Positively, television serves as functional means
of entertainment, information, education, and
socialisation in the society. Contrastingly, it has also
been criticised for bringing into people’s homes
harmful contents most people do not want or need.
9
For promoting notions of conflict, violence, crime,
indecency, immorality, materialism, cultural
stereotype, language permutation, etc., television is
said to inject dysfunctional inputs into the society
which when considered critically can be said to
debase the indigenous cultural values in Nigeria.
Whether considered positively or negatively,
television wields enormous influences on people’s
culture in so many ways. Within the Nigerian
cultural milieu, one can hardly tell whether television
broadcasting is all-together harmful or beneficial to
the local cultures that exist. Traces of harmful and
beneficial impacts are observed. From this premise,
Schramm’s conclusion on his research on influence
of television on audiences as cited by Rodman (2006)
should suffice that, for some people, under some
conditions, some television content is harmful. For
other people, under the same condition conditions, or
for some people under other conditions, it may be
beneficial. For most people, under most conditions,
most television is probably neither harmful nor
particularly beneficial.
This however makes the issue highly
controversial. Whether television has brought harm
or benefit to Nigerian indigenous cultural values is
subject to debate and thus prompts the question: what
is the social impact of television on Nigerian
indigenous cultural values? This paper aims at
9
 Obong (2019)
unfolding and demystifying the social impact of
television on Nigerian indigenous cultural values.
Overview of Culture
The concept ‘culture’ suffers universal
definition as it means different thing to different
people in different socio-cultural context. Hence, as
many as there are scholars of cultural studies, so also
are there definitions proffered on the subject matter.
An attempt to define culture would not fail to
mention that it can be looked at from two broad
perspectives: material and non-material culture
(Nwagbara and Umor, 2012; Schaefer, 2012;
Ahamefula and Nnajieto, 2013; Udoh and Udensi;
2016). To the authors, the material culture has to do
with the tangible inventions such as clothing, tools,
foods, machines, arts, crafts, artifacts, etc. made and
used by people to satisfy their varied needs in the
society. The non-material culture are sets of
intangible and abstract ideals such as ideas,
knowledge, language, beliefs, religion, attitudes,
philosophy and value system that a group of people
construct as reality which define their conduct,
attitude and behaviour within the society.
Culture is a wholesome and all-encompassing
concept which comprises the manifestation of the
patterns of language and the thoughts which
culminate into models for a cultural group to mould
their behaviour, fashion their living and standardise
their general conduct (Nwagbara and Umor, 2013).
Emphasising more on the concept, Nwagbara and
Umor (2012, p. 60) maintains that:
Culture therefore is dynamic, man-created and
transferable; but it does not just mean values and
personality, rather, the great corpus of techniques,
knowledge, models of social organizations, ideas,
and aspirations specific to a society, which is handed
down and learned in each generation and enables a
particular form of social life to take place.
From what has been said about culture, it cannot
be dismissed for denoting the totality of a complex
way of life of a people from their selfdefinition,
worldview, living standard, survival skill, history,
etc. to their institutions, religions, educational
Equatorial Journal of Communication Technology
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3380939
systems, value system, ideology, philosophy, fate
and emotional features that characterise and define
them in a unique way from members of other social
groups (Etuk, 2002; Ekeanyanwu and Odukomaiya
2008; Jegede,
2012).
Culture is people-specific. It contains within it,
those features, characteristics or ingredients which
guarantee the survival of its people (Etuk, 2002). It
is likened to a behaviour which can be observed,
learnt, acquired, imitated, imbibed and transferred by
any possible medium (Baran, 2004;
Ekeanyanwu, 2009). This critique looks at culture
from all its ramifications (from the material to
nonmaterial aspects) in so far as its ideals have
bearing with people and people’s value system.
An Overview of Nigerian Cultural Values
Culture has been defined as a common,
collective and uniform practice, artefact, aspiration,
symbolism, modality, behaviour, attitude, feeling,
worldview or belief of which a group of people in a
unique social confinement hold to be true of their
self-definition, yearnings and identity. The word
‘value’ provokes such literal conjectures as ‘worth’,
‘importance’, ‘standard’, etc. Translates literally, the
concept ‘cultural values’ may be taken to mean
cultural worth and standard. Thus, a culture that has
self-worth for its ideals and practices will do
anything in its power to maintain such standards.
Ahamefula and Nnajiato (2013), posit that
values are the underlying standards or principles by
which cultural ends and means are judged, evaluated
or weighed. To these scholars, values determine what
is considered desirable, important and worthwhile
and they explain and justify behaviour. They
summed it all by saying that a value is a belief that
something is good, desirable and acceptable. Thus,
cultural values are those desirable and acceptable
morals, religious, political and social standards that
members of a cultural group set as prism to guide
their own behaviour and practice.
Every culture has its unique standard for doing
things, reacting to things and perceiving things and a
10
 Obong (2019)
self-worth for its material elements (such as, food,
dress, arts, artifacts, beliefs, buildings, etc.) and non-
material elements (such as, beliefs, norms, rituals,
folklores, behaviours, festivals, yearnings,
aspirations, social institutions and systems,
relationships, language, religion, etc.). It is such self-
worth that makes its members behave as if their
culture is superior to other cultures. This
development, Sumner, in 1906 coined
‘ethnocentrism’ (Bizumic, 2014).
Irrespective of the cultural diversity palpable
within Nigeria’s socio-cultural map, certain cultural
values are universal. Such universal cultural values
include: decency, religious sanctity, orderliness,
peace, human dignity, respect for self and others,
trust, chastity, preference for language use and food,
hospitality, morality (the goodness or rightness of
one’s manner, character or proper behaviour),
aesthetic preference (appreciation of work of arts,
artefacts, dress pattern, nature or cultural practices as
beautiful), human traits (personality description),
human endeavour (human strives or enterprises) and
social order (respect for social structures,
institutions, relations, customs, values, rites, rituals
and practices which conserve, maintain and enforce
certain patterns of relating and behaving in a society)
(Wikipedia, 2017).
Culture and Television: The Symbiosis
A discussion on culture and television would not
dismiss the fact that the two concepts coexist as bed
fellows. Television, as an institution or organisation,
does not exist in a vacuum but situates within a
culture. When considered as a process, its actions,
inactions, operations and functionality is to the
betterment or peril of the culture in which it operates
upon.
That culture provides the social background and
accommodation for television operation to have its
footing is true. Without culture, television would
exist in isolation. A culture provides television with
the raw materials that it needs in order to survive. Of
course, television would not boast of its software
(contents or programmes) if there was no culture for
Equatorial Journal of Communication Technology
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3380939
it to reflect and project. Hence, there can be no
television without culture vice versa. Hence,
television and culture have interactive and symbiotic
relationship.
Some of the ways that television is heavily tied
to culture are in the areas of culture transfer, culture
marketing, socialisation, cultural integration, etc.
Television, given its audio-visual appeal has the
potency to create cultural familiarisation and what
Baran (2004) refers to as cultural intimacy. This
happens when it constantly brings culturally-laden
audio-visual messages to people home in a manner
that makes such messages appear as the most
acceptable and standard way of life. In similar vein,
when foreign cultural messages are projected by the
television quite often that they become familiar with
the audiences, cultural effects therefore take place
even at a subliminal level.
If culture defines our identities in a social group,
who or what contributes to the construction and
maintenance of culture? Baran (2004, p. 10)
maintains that “the creation and maintenance of a
more or less common culture occurs through
communication, including mass communication.”
Ekeanyanwu and Odukomaiya (2008, pp. 106-107)
citing MacBride (1981) observe that communication
is a major carrier of culture and that the media of
communication are cultural instruments (which serve
to promote or influence attitudes, to motivate, to
foster the spread of behaviour patterns, etc.) and a
means of access to culture.
Corroborating the foregoing viewpoints,
Okunna (1993) cited in Ekeanyanwu and
Odukomaiya (2008, p. 107) maintains that “the
communication industry is part of the culture
industry, and mass communication is a very strong
vehicle for cultural dissemination.” Television, the
theatre of actualities and ‘make-believe’ and the
captain of broadcast media, facilitates the creation
and maintenance of culture much faster and more
forceful.
11
 Obong (2019)
Social Impact of Television:
Theoretical Underpinnings
In attempting a discourse on social impact of
television on Nigerian indigenous cultural values,
some theoretical approaches demand explanation in
order to anchor the substance of the paper on existing
foot holes. To this end, Cultivation Analysis and
Cultural/Media Imperialism theories are reviewed.
The essence for the review is because the tenets of
the theoretical approaches have connotations with
the bearing, position and tone of this paper.
Cultural/Media Imperialism Theory: Cultural or
media imperialism theory dates back to late 1960s; a
period when plausible explanations were sought on
the arguments as to whether or not the media contents
disseminated by powerful transnational media
institutions from developed countries of the world,
actually dominate, or infiltrate, the cultures in Third
World countries. One of the leading proponents of
cultural imperialism theory was Herbert Schiller who
argued in the late 1970s that United States-controlled
corporations dominate the global communications
industries (Barker, 2004).
According to White (2001) cited in Ekeanyanwu
(2012, p. 38), “the nature of the media…at that time,
promoted a one-way, topdown transmission system
from dominant country to dominated country that
theoretically gave rise to a passive audience and a
powerful media.”
Cultural imperialism, according to Barker (2004, p.
1) “is said to involve the domination of one culture
by another and is usually thought of as a set of
processes involving the ascendancy of one nation
and/or the global domination of consumer
capitalism.” The argument on cultural imperialism
stresses a loss of cultural autonomy or independence
for the ‘dominated’ nation and the worldwide growth
of cultural homogeneity or ‘sameness’ (Barker,
2004). Thus, when developed nations use their
political or economic power in whatever subtle form
and intention to exalt and spread their foreign
cultural values and habits at the expense of a native
Equatorial Journal of Communication Technology
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3380939
culture, cultural imperialism has taken place
(Tomlinson, 2006).
Cultural imperialism suggests a situation where the
cultural values of the Third World nations are
suppressed, seized down, adulterated or trampled
upon with impunity and disregard by the cultural
values of the developed nations with the aid of their
powerful and sophisticated mass communication
media. It paints a picture where foreign and local
cultures are fighting for supremacy. In such battle,
the foreign culture is depicted as exerting more force
and momentum than is usual and acceptable on the
local culture. Ekeanyanwu (2012, p. 39) captures the
subject matter more lucidly thus:
Media/cultural imperialism could also be
described as the subtle manipulation of
the mass media of underdeveloped or
developing countries by the developed
western capitalist nations of Europe and
North American, using their advanced
and well-developed mass media to control
the behaviour, lifestyles, mores, arts, and
values of the undeveloped or developing
nations.
Cultivation Analysis: Cultivation Analysis, also
known as Cultivation Theory, was propounded by
George Gerbner, Larry Gross, Michael Morgan and
Nancy Signorielli in 1976. The theory is a stalagmite
social theory that examines the longterm effects of
television viewing on audience. In its most basic
form, cultivation analysis assumes that exposure to
television content over time, subtly “cultivates”
viewers’ world views and perception of what can be
considered as social reality. Lucidly put, the theory
holds the position that the longer one watches
television, the more invisible the television becomes
(Gerbner, Gross, Morgan and Signorielli, 1986).
The theory assumes that television has acquired
such a central place in people’s daily lives that it
demonstrates peoples’ symbolic environment by
replacing its distorted messages about reality for
personal experience and other means of knowing
about the world. Gerbner, Gross, Morgan and
12
 Obong (2019)
Signorielli, (1986, p. 3) in reaffirmation of their stand
on the cultivation analysis of television posit that:
Television cultivates from infancy the very
predispositions and preferences that used to
be acquired from other "primary"
sources…television has become the primary
common source of socialization and everyday
information (mostly in the form of
entertainment) of an otherwise
heterogeneous population. The repetitive
pattern of television's mass-produced
messages and images forms the mainstream
of a common symbolic environment.
The underlying process in Cultivation Theory is
that of “acculturation” meaning that people gradually
come to accept and believe the view of the world as
portrayed on television as a true representation of
reality and adapt their cultural behaviours
accordingly. Thus, heavy consumption of television
content that is culturally-laden lays the ground work
for acculturation to take place. Gerbner et al. (1986,
p. 25) maintain that “on issue after issue, we found
that the assumptions, beliefs and values of heavy
viewers differ systematically from those of
comparable groups of light viewers”.
Thus, if television constantly portray
controversial alien cultural contents to its heavy
viewers as the most acceptable cultural pattern, the
viewers will likewise not hesitate to imbibe or imitate
such cultural pattern and live it out in their social
group not minding the prevailing cultural pattern of
behaviour of their social group. As a consequence,
acculturation or enculturation may result.
Social Impact of Television on
Nigerian Indigenous Cultural Values
There is no contradiction in the fact that
television has exerted some level of impact on
Nigerian cultural values. Television has dual impact
on the core values of Nigeria culture. The impact of
television on Nigerian culture is ambivalent: positive
(pro-social) and negative (antisocial). To unravel the
negative and positive impacts of television on
Equatorial Journal of Communication Technology
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3380939
Nigerian cultural values is the concern of this
segment.
Anti-Social Impact of Television on Nigerian
Indigenous Culture
Promotion of Indecent Dressing Cues: One of
the most glaring negative impacts of television on
Nigerian cultural values is promotion of indecent
lifestyles. Television, through its entertainment
contents, has not only showcased indecent dressing
patterns but has also portrayed them in a more
attractive and acceptable way that suggests or
encourages audience’s imitation.
Most television characters: celebrities, music
icons, movies stars, presenters, football stars and
popular models do not dress decently on television.
Various indecent and culturally-disturbing dress
patterns and hairstyles are named after television
personalities. The Nigerian youths who take most of
television personalities seriously as role models
imitate their dress patterns even when such dress
patterns are used as mere costumes in their
presentation.
A street tour through major cities in Nigeria
would reveal ever-dynamic dress patterns that exist.
It seems people no longer have interest in dressing
decently. Foreign fashion trends, no matter how
absurd and outlandish, are in greater displays within
the Nigerian society. Tattoos and piercings adorned
at strategic body parts; outlandish hairdo, absurd
sizes and colours of ear rings, artificial nails,
artificial eye lashes; strange make ups; suggestive
attires, etc. are the trending dress patterns among the
Nigerian youths. Such attires and self-projection
cues supposedly, make them feel more comfortable
than decent ones. To this end, it is no longer strange
and culturally-shocking to see young women
dressing half-naked and young men, sagging their
trousers to reveal their sensitive body parts.
If the foregoing is something to go by, it does
not lack merit to say that the dress values of the
society is subjected to the ‘make-believe’ dress
world of television. The gullible Nigerian audience
who cannot come to terms with societal values,
13
 Obong (2019)
imitate the television cues to get an edge out of social
reality. Television, given the indecent fashion ideals
it offers, solidifies its place as a medium dedicated to
immodest dressing.
Language Adulteration and Pollution: Language
is one of the most important cultural elements.
Through it, the whole gamut of a culture is consoled
of having a means of expression and
communicativeness. Language makes a culture
distinct and besides its communication value, it
marks out a group of users and sets them apart from
other people (Etuk, 2002). Thus, when a people
language is interfered with, the identity of such a
people is endangered and hence, breeding fear of
language adulteration or outright erosion. In cultures
other than the United States, Cairncross (2000, p.
266) observes that “people fear a future in which
everybody speaks English and thinks like an
American, with cultural diversity engulfed in a tidal
wave of crass Hollywood values.”
With excessive exposure to television contents,
especially, the ones produced in Western cultures,
there has been drastic changes in choices of language
in Nigeria. Accompanying the debate on English
language domination on the indigenous languages in
Nigeria are the issues of vulgar, aggressive and
violent languages (which are offensive to good taste
and morals) heating the front burner of most cultural
and language debates.
There is no gainsaying the fact that most
television contents deploy strong, wrong and
culturally-debasing languages to appeal to their local
audiences. Audiences being exposed to such contents
have incidentally acquire such languages to suit their
purposes and intent. Before television was popular in
Nigeria, foreign vulgar, suggestive, aggressive and
socially-offensive languages were not very popular.
Today, the words: “nigger”, “f**k you”, “shit”,
“bullshit”, “asshole”, “bitch”, “asswipe”, “bastard”,
“motherf**ker”, “cock”, “I swear down”, “poonani”
etc. are made so popular by television that some
Nigerians depend on them for their expressiveness in
formal and informal social communication context.
Equatorial Journal of Communication Technology
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3380939
Disintegration from Social Life: Long before the
television was popular and made common, some
societies in Nigeria used to gather at
sociallyapproved spaces or squares to be entertained
and taught moral lessons with Tales by Moonlight.
Children and adults of those days used to play all sort
of games, dance all sort of dances and entertain
themselves with all manner of jokes, myths, legends
and fables under the moonlight. People knew people
by names and background. Social connection was
closely-knit compared to the television generation.
With almost every socially-conscious issues
produced and broadcast on television, the Nigerian
societies are gradually handing over their cultural
authority and relevance to television. With enormous
time spent before television screen, the Nigerian
people are gradually losing interest in social
gathering and keeping physical contacts. Television
contents can keep an individual company and
provide faithful companionship that friends, peers,
colleagues and family members cannot. In such light,
television becomes lethal to social connections and
integration (Irish Times, 2001).
Interfamilial Disruption: Television, as noted by
School work helper (2017a) has been found to break
down family unit even further by causing separation
and the indoctrination of out-of-reach family ideals
in children and adolescents. Watching television
reduces the amount of time that children spent
playing with siblings, helping parents with chores
and reading (Rodman, 2006). Television creates
artificial sense of family unity and exert more and
more control over family dynamics and thereby,
threatening the strength and depth of family bonds
(School work helper, 2017a).
Going by the portrayals of culturallydisturbing
contents on television, most family ideals have been
debased and taboos, promoted. In Nigeria, most
cultured parents cannot come to terms with their
children wearing tattoos, piercing their skins,
smoking, dressing immodestly, speaking swear
words, wearing ear rings and plaiting their hair (for
14
 Obong (2019)
the males), turning to alcoholism, indulging in
violence and crime etc. as projected on television.
From the foregoing, television seems to be at conflict
with some family values and norms as well as turning
family members against each other. Conflict is bound
to take place in a situation where a family member
imitates televised ideals that are against the
established family norms and values. Often, such
individual is treated as a deviant and as an outcast by
his/her own family. In trying to resolve such cultural
conflict, the family often goes through one form of
social tension or the other and in most cases, outright
disruption.
Popularisation of Obscenity and Immorality:
Television has changed the moral barometer of
Nigerian societies. Through entertainment
programmes such as reality TV shows, movies and
music videos, immoral behavioural acts are
promoted and rewarded. Incessant portrayals of
obscene and immoral behaviours through television
advertisement and entertainment contents have
exacerbated immorality in Nigeria. Immoral acts and
behaviours such as: pre-marital sex, extramarital
affairs, prostitution, deceit, incest, bestiality,
homosexuality, bisexuality, suggestive dressing
modes, masturbation, amorous escapades, nudity,
etc. are depicted on television as cool, fun and
exciting with no in-depth discussion and analysis of
the consequences of modelling such behaviours.
Gradually, the behaviours are taking their firm roots
in the Nigerian cultural fabric.
A research conducted by Ezeh (2009) on the
linkage between exposure to television contents and
modelling of immoral sexual behaviour of Youths in
Nsukka, Enugu State, found that Nsukka Urban
youths’ exposure to immoral sexual behaviour on
television influenced them to acts of immoral sexual
behaviour. This finding underscores that television is
a powerful medium that can change people attitude
and forms habit that reflects those represented in its
various programmes (Okpala, Awujo, and Okpala,
2012). Such attitudinal and values change will, with
time, lead to a change in behaviour, with new
Equatorial Journal of Communication Technology
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3380939
behaviours inappropriate to and injurious to the
health of indigenous society as a whole
(Ekeanyanwu and Odukomaiya, 2008).
Promotion of Violence and Crime: One of
television’s conspicuous dysfunction is to promote
violence (Baran, 2004). Lowery and DeFleur (1995)
cited in McQuail (2007, p. 482) maintain that “the
viewing of violent entertainment increases the
likelihood of aggressive behaviour.” Worthy of note
is that television makes hero out of deviants and
those who jeopardises social control and
enforcement mechanisms. It also promotes violence
by suggesting that life is about survival of the fittest.
In its portrayal, man must either fight against
himself, against his neighbours or against his society.
There is hardly any television content that does
not contain one or more violent incidents and such
contents exaggerate the probability of people being
directly involved in violent acts (Rodman, 2006).
From unhealthy competitions and aggressive
arguments on reality TV shows, nagging housewives
and domestic violent scenes in home videos, gang-
related lyrics and shooting scenes on musicals to
crime fighting scenes in news programmes, reveal
some level of violent contents on television.
Audiences, being predominantly exposed to such
excessive violent contents become desensitised to
violent acts in real life and can reproduce same when
occasion demands.
Television has also encouraged the proliferation
of crimes in the Nigerian society. Drug peddling and
trafficking, internet and advanced fee fraud, armed
robbery, human trafficking, money rituals, burglary,
pickpocketing, etc. are some of the crimes suggested
by television as easy routes to wealth. Billionaire
fraudsters, drug lords, ritualists, armed criminals, etc.
are portrayed with reverence as people who hold
excessive clout over the political, economic and
social capital of the society. In movies, these are the
people who call the shot or have the law and
government in their pockets and can get away with
any crime as far as they have enough money to pull
strings. At the end, justice is bought not served. Here,
though with sublime intent, the story television
15
 Obong (2019)
seems to be telling is that even though other
profession may pay, crime pays much more. Ill-
gotten wealth is flaunted and applauded louder than
hard-earned wealth. This popularity reward for
criminal activities has encouraged and motivated
most honest people in Nigeria to go into crime.
Materialism and Consumerism: Sharma and
Singh (2013) observe a strange new cultural creation
as one of the deceptions portrayed by television
advertising. Through television advertisement, the
Nigerian audience are constantly bombarded with
manipulative and deceptive commercial messages on
so many trivial products they do not necessarily need
or can afford per time. Thus, buying behaviour is
therefore forcefully encouraged on products and
services that are even injurious to their personal and
environmental health. Truths and facts about
product’s benefit and usefulness are downplayed for
the emotional and irrational puffery that compels
buying behaviour.
Ego, pride, fear, status, class and sex appeal are
built into a product to trigger prospective customers
to want. Television advertisement is one of the
causes of alcoholism, drug addiction and substances
abuse in the Nigerian society.
Ethnic Stereotyping: Stereotyping is the practice of
representing or portraying a member of a (ethnic)
group by using oversimplified or demeaning
characteristics of such (ethnic) group (Rodman,
2006). Fiercely, television has engendered cultural
stereotype between the ethnic groups that exist in the
country in such a way that if a particular ethnic group
is not portrayed is a particular light, the whole
narrative or fiction hardly makes sense. To this end,
if a Hausa man is not a gatekeeper, influential
politician, car dealer or a powerful ritualist who can
barely speak standard English without injecting
“walahi”, “kai!”, etc. in his expression, the character
cannot be said to be representing the image of a
Hausa man. Also, if an Igbo man is not named
‘Emeka’ and owns a shop or is into one business or
the other, the ‘Igboness’ in such a character
supposedly lacks flavour. Equally, on television,
Equatorial Journal of Communication Technology
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3380939
every Ibibio man or woman must be a house boy or
house maid and must be named ‘Okon’ or ‘Akpan’
and ‘Ekaette’ respectively. Ekaette must know how
to cook more than the mistress, she must come from
Calabar and must be sexually super-active to snatch
the mistress’ husband. The Yorubas, supposedly
must be portrayed as people who do not pay attention
to hygiene and must shout with the mouths open
before conversing. Warri people are characterised as
violent, bold and overtly smart. Such stereotypes
only show that television is prejudiced and that it
encourages prejudice in the cultural identity of the
people of Nigeria.
Pro-social Impact of Television on Nigerian
Indigenous Cultural Values
Socialisation: Television is one of the prime
agents of socialisation and one of the potent
instruments for cultural transmission. By reflecting
and constantly projecting the socio-cultural values of
Nigeria, socio-cultural values are being preserved
and transmitted from one generation to the other.
Going by the popularity of television viewing in
Nigeria, people can learn about the world and the
ways of the society through television portrayal of
such ideals. For Gonzalez-Mena (2010), people can
learn something about occupations, for example,
getting an idea about what a nurse does, what a
doctor does, and how the two relate to each other.
The author further maintains that learning about the
institutions of the society, that is, what goes on in
court, for example, the language to go with these
roles and settings are some of the ways that television
can socialise a culture.
Education: Television is one of the greatest
educators in modern time. Where formal education
within the four walls of a classroom cannot be made
possible by whatever sociological factor, television
has served as a school and as a classroom for distance
education. Given its powers to blast geographic
barriers, instructional contents are delivered ‘to
whom it may concern’ with ease, speed, relative
16
 Obong (2019)
cheapness and at the convenience of its learners who
are cut away by physical boundaries.
Television can teach and deliver on any subject.
Research finding documented in Rodman (2006)
reveals that children with high intelligent quotients
tended to be heavy viewers when they were young
and less intelligent children showed the opposite
pattern. Televised films were equally found to have
a major effect on the acquisition of factual
knowledge (448).
Information: Television, through news programmes
provides quality and timely information for members
of the Nigerian society to live informed lives.
Television as one of the potent media of
communication has not lapse in this function. With
its audio-visual appeal, television has brought to the
attention of the mass’s issues of societal-relevance
happening around them.
By letting the masses see the events as they
unfold, it is as if they are physically present at the
scene where the events are taking place. The
actualities, soundbites and pictorial presentation of
the events in form of motion pictures make the
information disseminated look so real and believable
for the masses to draw useful cues from.
Socio-cultural Ombudsmanism: When television,
through its programmes, seeks to investigate into
cultural controversy in a bid to resolve it so as to
encourage cultural homogeneity, it is can be said to
be playing a role typical of an ombudsman. In
Nigeria, some locally-sourced television
programmes are produced to checkmate the
(supposedly) negative influence of foreign contents
on the socio-cultural development of the country.
Programmes such as Nigerian Television
Authority’s classics such as: Village Headmaster;
Cock Crow at Dawn; Behind the Clouds;
Masquerades and Life Stories address several moral,
family and cultural issues plaguing the nation. On
such programmes, complaints are made on alarming
cultural lapses and at the end, redress is suggested.
Equatorial Journal of Communication Technology
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3380939
Entertainment: Television is a very powerful
medium for entertainment. The music, drama, reality
show, movie, documentary, etc. on television give
the audience respite, escape and diversion from the
harsh realities of daily experiences of life. The make-
believe illusion it creates in the minds of its viewers
is a potent potion for relaxation and calming of
nerves.
Because of its power to attract and sustain
attention, most parents resort to television to baby sit
their children. Television has changed the way
people use to have fun. Not only is television more
convenient than going to movies, plays, concerts, or
sporting events, it is also a lot cheaper and more
flexible. With modern day television, people do not
have to leave their houses, and get dressed up to drive
to see what they could be watching on their own TV
sets at home (Schoolworkhelper, 2017b).
Family Integration: By becoming a uniting force
during family viewership, television has foisted the
bonds and encourage family integration. The
gravitational effects of television on the family are
beneficial as they serve to bring members together in
a common forum (Schoolworkhelper, 2017a).
Political Development: Television broadcasting has
really boosted political development in Nigeria.
From formation of political parties, political
mobilisation/canvassing, electioneering, elections,
swearing-in to tenures or appointment in political
offices, television has been the mirror projecting
Nigerian politics to the world. With its audio-visual
edge, television has impacted on Nigerian politics in
dynamic ways that it becomes part of political
definition in Nigeria.
Summary
This paper examines the social impact of
television on Nigerian indigenous cultural values. It
starts by defining culture as a unique and total way
of life of a people in a social group that defines and
set the group apart from other social groups. It is
sacrosanct that people make up a culture. That being
17
 Obong (2019)
true, values tell people what is good, beneficial,
desirable, and constructive.
Television and culture are treated as symbiotic
bed fellows. As the latter helps the former to have its
footing, the former helps the latter in transporting
and marketing its elements.
Theoretically, from the hindsight of proponents of
media and cultural imperialism theory, nothing good
can be said to come out from the operations of
television in as much as it is appraised as an
instrument for cultural colonisation. From such
prism and standpoint, television cannot overcome its
persecution for keeping strong faith in transporting
foreign cultural elements which are thought to be
harmful to its host culture. However, heavy
consumption of television content with such cultural
contents is feared to lay the ground work for
acculturation to take place. Here, underlies the core
assumption of Cultivation Theory that people
gradually come to accept the view of the world as
portrayed on television as a true representation of
reality and adapt their cultural behaviours
accordingly.
In Nigeria, the social impact of television is
ambivalent, that is, pro-social (functional) and
antisocial (dysfunctional). Functionally, television
has served entertainment, information and education
functions as well as engendering socialisation and
family integration. Dysfunctionally, television has
promoted indecency, obscenity, immorality,
language pollution, disintegration from social life,
interfamilial disruption, violence, crime,
materialism, consumerism and cultural stereotyping.
Conclusion
From the discussion made on the social impact
that television wields on Nigerian indigenous
cultural values, it can be said that the inputs of
television are two-sided. Thus, balancing the point of
views of the positivists and negativists’ schools of
thought on television influence. It is from such
premise that the writer of this paper thus submits that
television have really been beneficial in
consideration of its useful inputs which are necessary
Equatorial Journal of Communication Technology
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3380939
for education, information, entertainment, family
unification and socialisation. These functional
impacts are ennobling to the Nigerian indigenous
cultural values.
On the other hand, television also promotes
indecency, obscenity, immorality, language
pollution, disintegration from social life,
interfamilial disruption, violence, crime,
materialism, consumerism, cultural stereotyping and
cultural controversy. These dysfunctional inputs
debase the Nigerian indigenous cultural values.
REFERENCES
Ahamefula, E. and Nnajieto, C. (2013). Sociology:
The Fundamentals. Owerri: Divine Mercy
Publishers.
Baran, S. (2004). Introduction to Mass
Communication: Media Literacy and Culture
(3rd Edn.). Boston: McGraw Hill.
Barker, C. (2004). Cultural Imperialism. The SAGE
Dictionary of Cultural Studies. London:
SAGE Publications: 1-4.
Bizumic, B. (2014). Who Coined the Concept of
Ethnocentrism? A Brief Report. Journal of
Science and Political Psychology, 2(1): 310.
Cairncross, F. (2000). The Death of Distance: How
the Communications Revolution is changing
Our Lives. Boston: Harvard Business
School Press.
Ekeanyanwu, N. and Odukomaiya, S. (2008).
Indigenous Culture, Communication and
Globalization in Developing Societies: A Case
for Cultural Development Hypothesis.
Interdisciplinary Journal of Communication,
8: 102-123.
Ekeanyanwu, N. and Edewor, A. (2009). Cultural
Implications of ICTs and Globalization in the
Nigerian Society. Journal of Communication
and Media Research, 1(2): 13-29.
Ekeanyanwu, N. (2012). Theorizing Cultural
Development vis-à-vis Cultural Imperialism
Theory In: Ekeanyanwu, N., Ngoa, S. &
18
 Obong (2019)
Sobowale, I. (Eds.). Critique and Application
of Communication Theories. Ota:
Covenant University Press.
Ekeanyanwu, N. and Usaini, S. (2017). Perceived
Role of Entertainment Television in shaping
Social Behaviour of Teenagers. Available at:
http://covenantuniversity.edu.ng/Profiles/
Usaini-Suleimanu/Perceived-role-
ofentertainment-television-in-shaping-social
behaviour-of teenagers. Accessed on: 3rd
February, 2019.
Ejem, A. (2016). Broadcast Production. n.p:
Meyprints Publishers.
Etuk, U. (2002). Religion and Cultural Identity.
Ibadan: Hope Publications.
Ezeh, E. (2009). The Link between Television
Shows/Movies’ Exposure and Immoral Sexual
Behaviour of Youths in Nsukka, Enugu State.
A Masters Dissertation Submitted to the
Department of Religion, University of Nigeria,
Nsukka.
Gerbner, G, Gross, L, Morgan, M & Signorielli, N.
(1986). Living with Television: The Dynamics
of the Cultivation Process In: Bryant, J. and
Zillmann, D. (Eds.). Perspectives on Media
Effects. Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum
Associates.
Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2010). The Media as an
Influence on Socialization. Available at:
https://www.education.com/reference/article/
media-as-influence-socialization/ Accessed on:
1st July, 2018.
Hasan, S. (2013). Mass Communication: Principles
and Concepts (2nd Edn.). New Delhi: CBS
Publishers & Distributors.
Irish Times (March 30, 2001). Harvard Professor
warns of Social Disintegration. Available at:
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/harvardprof
essor-warns-of-social-disintegration1.296116.
Accessed on: June 26, 2018.
Jegede, E. (2012). The Influence of Social Media on
Indigenous Culture in Digital Age.
International Journal of Social Sciences and
Humanities Reviews, 3 (3): 65-72
Equatorial Journal of Communication Technology
Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3380939
McQuail, D. (2007). McQuail’s Mass
Communication Theory (5th Edn.). Los
Angeles: Sage.
Nkana, N. (2004). Television and the Management
of Inner Emotional Conflict. Uyo Journal of
Humanities, 10:88-99.
Nwagbara, G. and Umor, E. (2012). The Impact of
Nigerian Cultural Elements on the Design of
Print Media Ads. Kamla-Raj Journal of
Communication, 3(2): 59-66.
Ogbuoshi, L. (2005). Techniques of Film and
Television Production. Enugu: Rhyce-Kerex.
Okpala, I., Awujo, C. and Okpala, A. (2012). The
Influence of Television Viewing on
Adolescent, Behaviour among Public
Secondary School Students in Obio/Akpor
LGA in Rivers State. Journal of
Education and Practice, 3 (7): 142-150.
Rodman, G. (2006). Mass Media in Changing
World: History, Industry and Controversy.
Boston: McGraw-Hill.
Schaefer, R. (2012). Sociology (13th Edition).
Singapore: McGraw Hill.
Schoolworkhelper (2017a). Television and Its
Effects on Interfamilial Relationships.
Available at:https://schoolworkhelper.net/
television-and-its-effects-on-
interfamilialrelationships/. Accessed on: 26th
June, 2018.
Schoolworkhelper (2017b). Television’s Positive
Effects on Society. Available at:
https://schoolworkhelper.net/essaytelevisions-
positive-effects-on-society/.
Accessed on: 26th June, 2018.
Sharma, S. and Singh, R. (2013). Advertising:
Planning and Implementation. Delhi: PHI
Learning.
Tomlinson, J. (1991). Cultural Imperialism:A
Critical Introduction. London: Printer
Publisher Ltd.
Udoh and Udensi (2016). Mass Media and the
Paradigmatic Shift in Nigerian Values and
Morality. Equatorial Journal of
Communication Technology. 1(1):109-124
19
 Obong (2019)

Equatorial Journal of Communication Technology 20

Electronic copy available at: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3380939

View publication stats