Impact of Media on Youth and Children of our SocietyThe influence of media on our culture, society, children and youth is profound. We see its

presence in all walks of our life. Media is gradually shaping our values, beliefs, morals, and thus

our whole culture.

A simple comparison between our youth, and the young age of our parents will show us how

much we have changed. Once our youth was focused, determined and aware of their morals and

values, today the situation is completely different.

Since our youth spends most of their time on their television, cell phone, Facebook or laptops on

one form of media or another, therefore they get strongly influenced by what they see and hear

on the social media.

We can see this trend everywhere. Due to the influence of media, Fast foods have now become

common in Pakistan. We prefer to dine out, and eat different cuisines. Furthermore, our clothes

and attire reflect what we see on the media.

Previously, All our fashions reflected our core values. Back when we had only ptv, we did not

see many women wearing western clothes in our schools or colleges. Then with the emergences

of privatization and different television channels, our people became exposed to different

cultures and traditions.

This exposure had both good and the bad side. On the positive side, it allowed us to see and

understand different culture, learn different languages, be better informed and gain knowledge on

so many vast topics, but on the negative side it started the process of culture diffusion.

Our culture became mixed with the western culture. Today our trends no longer reflect our core

values; we see capris, sleeveless shirts and sometimes even indecent tops common in our society.

Once dubbata was considered as the symbol of a Pakistani women’s chastity but today it is out of

fashion. Western clothes are worn commonly by men and women in offices and universities.

Out clothing is not the only thing that suffered. Another important area that has suffered from the

impact of media is our core family system. Dating has always existed in our society; I won’t say

that media led to its creation. But before, dating was based on love, mutual respect, and most

importantly limits.

Men and women loved each other, and they talked with certain boundaries. Then they got

married. Today , the situation is different. Dating has become more of a sport then love.

Following the trend of the western word, our youth considers it okay to be with multiple

partners.

I am not saying that everyone follows the same trend, but in most cases women and men who

claim to love each other forget their boundaries. They start looking at their boyfriends or

girlfriends as mehrams. Premarital physical relationships and abortions have also increased

greatly after the inception of media.

Men expect a lot more from their women and women provide because they have seen it so much

now that they are okay with it. In short, both men and women end up making many mistakes in

their youth that they regret for the rest of their lives. Women face many problems after their

marriage due to their history, and thus we see many divorces and broken families.

Affairs are not the only thing that is leading to Divorce. Our society has started imitating the

cultures that are neither ours, and nor can we belong to them. Media constantly promotes that

Divorces happen, they are okay. They show it as a symbol of independence. People who look at

Divorce as independence do not want to invest time, compassion and effort in building their

relationship. They feel that divorce is the only answer.

In Pakistan Divorce was and still is considered a taboo, but the divorce rate is increasing day by

day. In Lahore city only, almost 100 divorce cases are reported each day. There are many

reasons for this but the origon of most of these traces back to media.

Women are shaping themselves to be more and more like the western women. They want to be

independent, career-oriented and free. Unfortunately, their definition of freedom reflects more of

the western beliefs then the Islamic one. They tend to ignore their responsibilities and children,

therefore both their marriage and their children suffer.

Most of the music videos today are very explicit, and they show women in degrading roles.

Women are shown as tools of pleasure and as per scientific proof it starts building the same

image in the mind of the viewers- Research has shown that boys are affected more than girls.

Rape incidents have increased in Pakistan since these videos became common. Around 160 rape

cases were reported in 2013, but they were not the only ones committed. People don’t go to the

police after such incidents because of fear or their reputations.

Overall the level of violence in our society is rising. Scientific evidence exists to prove that when

people play violent games then their depression increases. They get easily agitated and violet.

We see this pattern all over our society. Since our children have now become addicted to their

gadgets and their games. We no longer see the innocent glow and creativity they once used to

have.

We see that the levels of murders and suicide are rising in our society. In 2011, young women

murdered his girlfriend and committed suicide. Every day the newspapers are full of disturbing

information about violence. All these circumstances are corrupting the very roots of our society.

Children have lost that childhood innocence that made them special, they are more alert, prone to

fight, fashion conscious and even sometimes dangerous.

As media has created violence and depression. It has also made the use of drugs common in our

society. Drugs are idealized in the movies and tv shows that we see. Although the advertisement

of smoking has been banned, it is still advertised implicitly through movies and television shows.

Furthermore, most of our youth is fond of watching western television shows like Vampire

Dairies, Friends, How I met your Mother, Super Natural and so many others. These shows are

full of everything that we need to stay away from, but we still watch them and one way or

another they do impact us.

Our society is losing its core values. We are beginning to accept things that were never a part of

our Islamic ideology, and our nation is suffering. Women are losing their respect, chastity and

honor in the name of independence. Men are turning into menaces, children are losing their

innocence and our society is losing the foundation that holds it together.

Due to the media, Crime rates, Depression, Rape, Divorce, and even suicide has increased

drastically in our country.

The situation is quiet alarming and serious steps need to be taken to remedy this problem. We

need to start from the grass root level. We can’t stop children from watching television, but we

can set their time tables. Children need to be encouraged to follow a routine in which they spend

significant time outdoors playing with humans instead of their gadget. The time they spend on

televisions and laptops need to be monitored to see that they don’t see anything that they should

not be watching. Furthermore, they need the attention of their parents to overcome the anxiety

and the depression brought on by their excessive media exposure.

Young women and men need to be educated about their basic morals. They need to be taught the

difference between love and lust. We need to reinstate the glory of marriage and try to mitigate

the effects of media in our homes.

On the bigger level, the government needs to put certain restrictions on the shows being run on

television. Every show should be subjected to certain filters that determine whether the show is

decent enough to be aired or not.

The clothing, language, content and boldness of each show should be monitored. We can control

our media but we cannot control the external media that youth has access to on their laptop. In

order to counter that effect, we need strong mentors guiding the children and reminding them of

their principals.

Language is the pride of every nation; unfortunately our language is slowing diminishing in

value in its own homeland. Both adults and children alike take pride in speaking English. Those

who can’t speak English properly feel ashamed; the number of people who can speak and

understand pure Urdu is decreasing day by day.

Mothers are themselves influenced by the media and they teach their children to speak in English

instead of Urdu. Our society cannot flourish if we cannot preserve our religion, language and

culture.

Parents and teachers need to be especially considerate, and careful in setting the right value in

the children. This problem is severe but it is not incurable. If everybody does their part

effectively then it can surely be handled.

We should use the media to become our strength instead of a weakness. The new generation can

use the media as a tool to promote our culture and language. We can reinstate our lost glory if we

can reinstate our core beliefs. If media can change us once then media can surely become a

catalyst of change again. All we need are determined individuals who are willing to take the

initiative!