The importance of mass media in the socio-political, cultural, economic and national development of the human society cannot be over-emphasized. In this 21st Century, the world depends largely on the media for news on every aspect of human endeavor.

Mass media inform, entertain and educate people about happenings in their environment. Thus, the media are involved in the teaching of norms and values which may not all enhance good social development. In other words, there are positive and negative effects of the mass media on the society.

Television today has combined the latest technology as an attraction to the youth audience, which has endeared them due to its interactivity. It is clear that the youths are at the forefront of technology revolution, which remains the major driving force behind the global emergence and revolution of the information and knowledge based society.

Technology has created the likelihood of global culture. The internet, satellite and cable T.V have swept away the so-called national cultural boundaries. For this reason, it has become very easy for people to get attracted to televised programmes and become addicted. Television has a captivating effect on viewers such that people, especially the youths, would want to imitate their heroes on television by trying to do what such characters do on television.

In today’s world, be it is a youth or an old man, everyone has some favourite show on television. Also, due to the upgrading of technology, television is no more a commodity which is owned by only the urban sector. Even rural families have access to television.

Since it is reaching such a large number of people, it has a major impact on the lives of the people. As any other medium of communication, television also has its pros and cons. Initially, one of the major impacts of television was that it brought a family close to each other. As TVs were little expensive initially and also with a limited shows on air a bunch of people used to sit together. But slowly and steadily, with the advent of technology and more choices available, catering to the demands of every sector of the society television sets reversed the concept entirely.

Now, each room of a house may have a separate television set. Thus, kids sit, watch, eat, drink, and play in their room and parents do the same in their room. Negative and sexual appealing programmes have today crippled into our national broadcast, which has compounded and complicated our national social problem by militating against moral calls from religious organisations.

For example, so many reactions have trailed one of the annual reality TV shows, which some say have come to persecute our long rich tradition. The last straw that breaks the camel’s back is that the programme is sponsored by rich individuals and reputable organisations.

Youths that we are moulding to lead tomorrow are now drowned into euphoria of this immoral show with so much money and resources staked therein. So much funds are sunk into propagating some of the shows where people gather to commit immorality, dress nude and speak uncensored languages.

There are, however many other TV programmes that are rich and socially approved for educating, impacting the society with its moral education that have helped to maintain peace and long lasting attitude in the youths.

This is therefore a call to the government, religious bodies and the society at large to eliminate the hand of a monkey in a pot of soup before it is mistaken to the hand of a human. Let us rise now and show a red card to these shows that will implant into our youths the seed that we will excess energy to weed out. We have had a fair and enough share of this youth exuberance and time has come to eliminate the enemies of youth morality in the name of TV shows.

WRITTEN BY UGOCHUKWU NWAFOR

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