the impact of mass media on pakistani youth
Mood:  energetic
In 1980s, there was a popular drama series on PTV for kids, in which stories were told about fairies, flying carpets, genies and magic lamps. Its impact was so great on the Pakistani children that there were incidents of children hurting themselves by jumping off the roof in order to ‘fly’. These incidents were similar to the ones inn America where kids who watched ‘Power Rangers’ ended up beating their classmates and playfellows. In America kids watch up to 5 hours a day of television. In Pakistan it is much less but I think the way our youth is going; we will get there pretty soon. Why is that, kids learn songs and jingles so easily and are not ready to learn their lessons? Maybe because the lessons taught in their school are not interesting. Or maybe it is more enticing to do things that you are not suppose to do. There is no sure way of knowing which programs can have adverse effects on the youth. I know for a fact that even the public service advertisements can have unfavourable effects. Once my young cousin came to me and said, “ congratulations! You are going to be a mother”. I knew he had seen some population control ad or some ad concerning the health of mothers to be. But how can you explain such things to kids. Its not just young kids that are impressionable but teenagers are vulnerable too. How can we fathom what affects a song like Kuttay, by the band called Noori, can have on the youth? The gangs that are formed in Karachi and other cities are definitely a reaction to the Hollywood and Bollywood movies (lets face it, nobody watches Pakistani movies) where violence is glamorised. Movies like, The Fast and The Furious, XXX, Kill Bill, and Gangs of New York are movies which shows bad guys as the cool people. Media, as in television, music, movies and the Internet have now taken over a great deal over the educational function of families and, to some extent, of schools. Youth today is so much absorbed in technology. We rather stay at home and watch television, play computer games and listen to music rather than going out to meet family and friends. Even in social gatherings I see youngsters playing with their cell phones rather than conversing with people. Kids are so proficient in the new gadgets that adults can’t seem to handle.