It is normal to find teens shutting themselves in their rooms, with eyes focused on the TV, earphones in their ears, or having long chats on the phone. Media, either in the form of print or electronic has largely influenced people´s lives. [break]
TV, one of the major media tools, can be a good educator and entertainer. TV characters, however, often depict risky behaviors, such as smoking and drinking and might also reinforce gender-role and racial stereotypes among the youth, clearly affecting them in a negative way.
Keshab Prasad Upadhyay, a counselor, says that advertisements and promotion of certain products like alcohols and cigarettes, product placement in movies, and television can incite the youth to experiment because they lack judgment to defend them against the attractive and cleverly produced advertising messages. Pages displaying romantic pictures where girls and boys are shown embracing each other, holding wine glasses high in the air are enough to seduce youngsters to give beverages a try, which can later turn into a bad habit.
Internet can also be attributed for increasing evil among youth. Access to porn sites is too easy and social networking sites like Facebook have pushed youth to invest a major proportion of their time into it which could have otherwise been used for their school or college work. Certain information from the internet might be fallacious or prejudiced which can influence a youth´s psychology in a negative manner.
Though internet opens up the door to exploration, it can also be attributed for turning youth into parasites. Youth, even for the most trivial information, resort to activating search engines. Subash Thapa, 17, a student in grade ten, says that he too has a habit of googling required information, whether it is for homework or any other assignment. “Internet is the quickest and the most convenient way to get required information, we do not have to rack our brains and ponder over a topic for long,” he adds. This practice has prevented youth from finding own creative answers.
There are magazines which publish marked amount of obscenities and vulgarism in them. Some youth are inclined to purchasing these and squander their precious time ogling over the exposed pictures. Magazines advocating brands and fads have made youth brand-conscious, encouraging them to spend their allowances on branded items rather than the ordinary ones which are just as good. “Though we are running low on our allowances we are still enticed to get these branded items. Shoes, shades, watch, they offer a contemporary feel,” says Sadhna Sharma, 22, also a student.
However, media also has positive influences on youth. Media, mostly internet, helps to connect individuals to one another and to the world. This assists in the formation of important youth networks that aim at working for the welfare of themselves and others. For instance, Association of Youth Organization Nepal (AYON) and Collective Campaign for Peace (COCAP) are some national networks which are contributing to the peace process in Nepal.
Padyatriz, a group of Nepali youth, works to promote internal tourism among Nepali youngsters through hiking, trekking and camping events so that they can have an increased understanding of Nepal. They have been able to do this by means of the networking site Facebook.
Furthermore, youth can publish their articles and views in newspapers and magazines. Media provides adequate space and opportunity for them to correspond, supporting their right to expression. Newspapers like The Kathmandu Post, The Himalayan Times, Kantipur and others provide liberty for the youth group to put in their views.
In addition, there are certain programs broadcasted on the radio and television that are intended for youth. For instance, callers can participate in singing competitions, poem recitations and quiz contests. “Sathi Sanga Man Ka Kura (SSMK)” is the first radio program produced by young people and for young people in Nepal which is broadcasted on Radio Nepal and thirty-three other local FM stations all over the country.
Media exerts an enormous influence over the lives of people of different age groups. It influences the youth in the way they dress, talk, behave, and think. Like every other thing, media also has both negative and positive impacts attached to it. It is entirely the role of the youth to discern and take in only what is good for them.
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