Mass media and cultural invasion.
Mass media and cultural invasion.
Introduction
Mass media is of great importance in the present era. The media has become a style statement more rather than a requirement. People have become dependent on the media for each and every basic requirement of their life. People have folded the world into their pockets in the form of mobile internet. Right from the children till old aged, everyone is into the trap of the media. Life is slowly becoming impossible without media. We can hardly find any nook or corner in the country free of the media and its wreckage.
Media has definitely got its hard-set impact on the culture. Our country is very much famous for its rich culture, but the status of the country with respect to its culture and its derangement, we can hardly feel proud of the same. With the emergence of globalization and westernization, our culture has got a big jerk and this has led to great instability in our prestige and pride.
Mass Media
There was a time when a simple landline telephone was considered to be a big deal. Then came the age of television, the news agencies got a spark. With the entry of computers, we have turned the world upside down. The Internet has given a wide scope of entry to shrink the world into just a click away. The social interactive sites like Facebook, the blogging sites like Twitter have made interactions very easy. With the video calling facilities like skype and viber, everyone finds very close to each other and people feel a lot better interacting face-to-face. The news channels have decreased the difference between the common man and government which is of most important in a democratic set-up. Media has planted its deep roots into the day-to-day life of the common man. People could hardly smell the air of freedom without the impact of media.
Importance of Indian Culture
India is very much famous for its rich culture. Our cultural heritage in itself is a great evidence of our traditions and customs. India has a special diversified culture, which is unique in the world. We still maintain the unity, the unity of being Indians with our diversified culture. We have varied type of traditions, linguists, customs, caste, creed etc. every culture is equally good and important in the eyes of Indians. We Indians have a welcome heart.
We try our best to pay equal status and respect to every tradition. This is one of the reason that we have paved way to the westernization. We have adapted and incorporated the western culture, and the same is good as far as we follow the good values and trends. But, the lacuna peeps in when the westernization is considered towards the negativity and bad traits and values are very much followed which is totally opposite to our traditions.
Impact of media on Indian Culture
Let us discuss the various fields of Indian culture that has got an impact due to the media:
• Family and Marriage values
The family and marriage have lost their importance. The youth is more into the world of television and Internet. they are more influenced by the western culture. This has given entry to new relationships like live-in relationship in a country where we give immense importance to the marriage and joint family structure. This is the time when majority prefer the nuclear families.
• Adultery
With the introduction of the Internet, the unwanted crap could gain easy access to the young minds. This gives a lightening spark for the stepping stones of the country to get their image and pride damaged. The increasing women safety and security concern in the country is the evidence for the damage to our civilization and tradition. The cultural derangement has led to the increasing fear factor in the country. This is undoubtedly the major reason for cultural set-back for the country.
• Democracy and governance
Media has a very good impact on linking the common man with the government. Media has definitely made the citizens close to the government set-up which is very important for the democracy. Indian culture with respect to the socialising and community interaction has grown up well with the help of media.
• Human Values
Social values have lost their value in India with the outbreak of fastrack media. Media is more than providing the information to the common man. Gone were the days when people used to respect elders, had dignified image for females, had humanity precisely. World has revolved very rapidly and the situation has become upside down. Everyone around is just greedy for wealth, property and power. They don’t care for anyone or anything coming through their success path. And most importantly, people have forgotten the path of honesty, they just prefer the shortest possible way to attain their aim.
• Lifestyle
Indians are more interested in fast food, and the international cuisines. They feel having the international edibles to be a status symbol rather than the delicacy.
The clothings have lost their value. Males prefer to wear the suitings in the hot summers just to imitate the foreigners. Females have flown along with the western culture and Indian dresses have lost their moral and value. Indian female wears have a dignified outlook, which is hardly seen today. Even the traditional Indian outfits have been re-designed with a westernised touch to the same.
Even speaking the mother-tongue is considered as a shameful act by the present generation. Not only the adults, but even the kids keep up their conversation in English. People prefer to send their kids to convent to have a better English fluency. Forget about the act of reading and writing, many of the Indians don’t even know to speak their mother-tongue.
Conclusion
We can conclude this topic with minimal words, but the issue is of great concern especially to the individuality of our country and culture. Loss of culture is more than any other loss for us Indians. We will lose our pride and dignity on the International stand with the loss of our moral values. All this would be the greatest gift of the media. Though media has given us some comfort in getting the world closer, still we need to make the technology dependent on us and avoid getting the inverse of the same. Hence, it is high time to realise the situation, recognise our actual stand in the society and act wisely to save our culture and our country from complete destruction.
Discussion
- RE: Mass media and cultural invasion. -Hemant Sharma (08/10/14)
- Mass media is a boom for a country such as India. The impact of mass media in India is rising as we speak. Everyone needs visibility, and mass media provides a great opportunity for the same. Thus, there are rising number of advertisers who are making full use of these media channels ever so well to get known. There is one thing common in rural and urban people i.e. media. Regardless of their religion or caste Indians are glued to TV and radio channels. But we need to question ourselves – Is the media culture affecting our own culture?
Everyone is fond of movies and serials but have you noticed the ad films that are more prominent feature in between these films. There are various iconic brands advertising themselves but it doesn’t seem to drive any social change in behavior or values as strongly as some of the character portrayed in the films. There has been a drastic change in the dressing and lifestyle of normal people. Pappu wants to dress like Shahrukh Khan in Baadshah. Munni wants to dance like Madhuri in Aaja Nachle. The concepts have come under a lot of influence by the movies and TV serials.
Communication and Entertainment in India in the early period were often witnessed in musical tone, poetry and religious texts. However, with the onset of television this has disappeared into the dark. Similarly, the folk dance and theatre (Ramlila and Nautanki) has been taken over by Bollywood and TV serials. Folk music and dance are a very integral part of our varied culture and it seems that it’s a lost cause now. Performing arts are on the verge of disappearance.
There have been a notable amount of changes in the social structure with respect to the caste system. People who can own any sort of media and communication is treated as a high class entity. For some it derives the status symbol of class. The culture of India is so vast and varied that it is difficult to define any one of them. India has earned its freedom from British Raj and thus know the value of culture. Its preservation matters to them. There are many steps taken by our government to protect this diverse culture. But it seems that the arrival of mass media has made some gaping holes in the policies developed to safeguard our culture.
Due to its widespread reach television has impacted the Indian culture the most in good as well as in bad ways. With the advent of mass media and various different channels of communication, the Brahmins sitting top of hierarchy has been replaced by those with big color screens set in their homes. Caste lines have decapitated but a wider line has been drawn between people in the quest to gain access to information and technology. Masses are getting attracted to television and each one wants a TV placed at his home. These thoughts have led to total destruction of traditional social structure as more and more people are migrating to the cities in hope of achieving something materialistic.
These mere movements from villages to cities have resulted in unemployment in the cities as well as a growing number of slums. This is just a shortcoming as media has not only changed the social structure and norm but is the main reason for the disintegration of the Indian Norms. The mass media has truly overstepped the boundaries. The privacy of a normal human being is being put at stake without their proper approval. Media has become so obsessed with invading celeb’s privacy that it has become quite frequent.
Although, television and mass communication have acted as a bridge linking the masses with the latest news, trends and information it has also disintegrated the social and cultural structures. Many aspects have been sacrificed with the arrival of the new ways of communication and information. The interaction between the media and people is impacting the diverse culture on our nation.
