Against-
Being a grown up man I can say Nouns have a great effect on our lives. But there are many perceptions. Originated from Late Latin period, Media as a noun, has gained enough respect to influence our lives early in the morning. Newspapers, Internet, Television, magazines, etc have become an essential component of our tracks without which our train of life will refuse to run. But the big question is why media is able to influence our ideas and decisions? Are we languid or is our hunger for knowledge or our habit of gaping into others lives has no well defined boundaries. But whatever the reason be, one should not forget that media industry is the most insulting, as it alternates between different thoughts of people.
When a person or a group of highly educated person present their views to a larger mass of population, it becomes a form of media. This may sound like a lame definition for something so complicated and diverse in nature, but this is what defines the media industry. Newspaper reports and articles are written by a single person but reviewed by many. Television news and debates by experts are the combination of hundreds of ideas. Looking at it statistically, these ideas present only a small part of the population, so it is expected that overall consensus of the population will not be much deviated from the sample. But this may not be the case every time. For instance in Gujarat 2002 riot case, Media might not have played a huge role in aggravating the situation. Because whenever news channels broadcast anything related to death, injury, loss and suffering or any riot inspired by religious sentiments, it takes only few moments for country to divide and at the same time various communities or group of people to reunite for a special purpose. Today, the after effects of any such incidents are predictable as the government is more aware of different categories of reactions. The government is also quite helpless given the inherent nature of the Indian people and historically proven reactions on incidents of similar intensity and nature.
Also, recently in Bofor’s case, Amitabh Bachchan was given a clean chit. In an interview with a leading daily newspaper, he revealed that Indian investigators probing the scandal plotted all the accusations on him when they went to Sweden to procure the list. But, did the superstar lose all the glamour and success in this period of 22 years? The answer is evident in the fact that he was invited to host Kaun banega crorepati and people loved his work in Bollywood. The point here is that this story was not able to influence people because there was a factor of trust and his goodwill successfully overshadowed the accusations. This element in attitude of the people is also well evident in historical incidents like assassination of Indira Gandhi which was followed by anti-sikh riots. There were no news channels at that time and government was forced to stop international and local media from covering the riots. The major question to answer is that had the media been there, would it have been possible for the people to stay unaffected and not take action against the perpetrators?
But no one seems to buy in this simple logic. Even in Assam, seeing the history of instability in the state, riots between local Bodos and migrants from Bangladesh created doubts in the minds of people much before newspapers and news channels reported incidents of attacks on the people of north-east. It is important here to understand that whatever information we hear is from the source, people rely in general; In this case it was the local people living in Assam who were in touch with their family and friends through social media or electronic media and they were not the followers but the observers which ultimately helped them in building a personal opinion in this incident. In today’s scenario it may not be quite evident, but the truth is people are still using their ideas and thoughts for their own interest using something new and innovative as a medium.
FOR-
In today’s world which is led by technological advances there are many forms of media touching our lives. Be it Newspaper, Television, Radio or Internet, each and every form of media has become an integral and inseparable part of an individual’s daily routine. According to a research over the past 5 years the average media consumption has increased from 5 hrs to 7.5 hrs daily. Media is consumed for various purposes like keeping an individual informed about the happenings around the world, entertainment and for socializing. Media, which has become our shadow, affects the way we act and think. For instance, don’t we want a hairstyle and physique just like our favourite movie star? Why is Iphone5 still a hotshot even though it is not significantly distinct from Iphone4? These are some of the perfect examples of profound influence of media on our behaviour and decision taking abilities.
It is usually argued whether television reflects society or society reflects what they see on television. Television has become a major part of every home. When Hum Log, the first soap was aired for the first time in India, millions of viewers across India sat glued to their sets sharing the joys and heartbreaks of the characters and identifying with their middle class attitude. Carrying on the tradition from there, soaps have been successful in playing with the psychological emotions of the viewers. The extent of the effect is such that at one hand they are promoting Indian values and tradition through characters like ‘Tulsi’ and on the other hand instead of promoting rational thinking they are producing a herd mentality in people who tend to behave in a similar fashion as their ‘soap idol’. Similarly, on one hand, we have reality shows like Satyamev Jayate which made Parliament pass a Bill to protect children from sexual abuse and on the other hand we have shows like WWE and Roadies which promote violence and disregard for values among the most vulnerable yet most powerful section of the society i.e. youth.
Media in the form of printed as well as television news has played a vital role in shaping our society and creating informed citizens. While in the past printed media like ‘Kesari’ promoted revolutionary thinking against oppressive British rule, in the present times, we have seen media exposing big scams like the Commonwealth, Coalgate and 2G scam. However, media too suffers from certain pitfalls like growing consumerism and materialism, partisan attitude, sectarian outlook and biased individualism. Often, in fierce rivalries, ethics of journalism are thrown out of the window to settle old scores. Hence, media must avoid deliberately creating sensational stuff to attract popularity.
Incidences like Assam Riots exhibit how media can influence the momentum with which certain news can spread and trigger chain reactions. Also, on the issues like FDI in retail media should make sure that they present both the sides of the coin. It is important for media to realize that they shoulder responsibility of dealing with the psychology and viewpoints of the people.
The most viral form of media which is gaining popularity these days is Social Media in the form of networking websites like Facebook, twitter and video sharing sites like YouTube and Flickr. Apart from pornography and violent video games which already affected the psyche of youth, this new born baby of Internet is making people spend hours posting their photos, videos and useless status messages rather than using that time constructively. New research reveals that the British economy is losing €14 billion a year due to wasted work time on social networking websites. The research found that roughly two million workers spend at least an hour each day on Facebook, Twitter and Myspace when they should be working.
To conclude let me quote Malcolm X who said “The media's the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and to make the guilty innocent because they control the minds of the masses”. Media should utilize its power in such a manner it becomes a boon for the society and not a bane.
