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Pro-people Media (English)
Media Education, a Misnomer
-Vinaya Kasajoo
After spending years of time and tons of paper to find out the
culprit who encourages people, particularly children and teenagers,
to do all kinds of nuisances in the family and the society, social
scientists are now pointing to a magic box that lives in the living
room and which is loved by all the family members. As the communication
technology develops it seems impossible to get rid of it. Media
education is the only way to reduce its negative impact and benefit
from it. But in Nepal media education has become a misnomer.
Suicide by an eight year boy for a packet of biscuit, last week
(November 10, 2003) has raised concerns among psychologists and
paediatricians. Some of them have contributed the incident to sibling
rivalry and family environment while some mental health experts
have pointed to the mass media, particularly television.
Scientific studies and reviews, abroad, conclude that significant
exposure to crime, sex, violence and advertisements increases the
risk of aggressive behaviour in children and adolescents. Violence
appears in various forms of entertainment, such as movies, video
games, and television news.
The American Academy of Pediatrics recognises that exposure to mass
media (i.e., television, movies, video and computer games, the Internet,
music lyrics and videos, newspapers, magazines, books, advertising,
etc) presents both health risks and benefits for children and adolescents.
Media education has the potential to reduce the harmful effects
of media. By understanding and supporting media education, pediatricians
can play an important role in reducing the risk of exposure to mass
media for children and adolescents. (Source: AAP Report)
Nepal is not an exception. To grab the limited audience and advertisement
market the Nepalese electronic media are increasingly normalising
and glamourising, and even glorifying occasionally, crime, sex,
violence and use of tobacco, alcohol and junk foods. As a result,
juvenile crime and obesity is increasing in the society.
Mass media, which is loved and appreciated so much for its role
in democracy, development, education, awareness, entertainment,
and so on, is replacing the traditional role of parents and teachers
in educating children. It has now become the dominant storyteller
in our society and as a dominant storytellers media has a powerful
influence on our understanding of ourselves and our world. Therefore,
it is imperative for young people as well as the parents to understand
mass media for the harmony and health of family and societies at
large.
Learning to question images and messages presented by the mass
media is a critical first step to becoming an active, thoughtful
consumer of the media, and, consequently, an independent thinker
capable of resisting and challenging unhealthy understanding and
practice. Media education or media literacy enables people to read,
understand and deconstruct media images and messages. It provides
young people the tools to construct positive self-images and find
healthy relationships.
Media education is defined as the study and analysis of mass media.
It has potential to reduce harmful effects through the process of
educating children, adolescents, and adults about media. A media-literate
public is able to decipher the purpose and message of media rather
than accepting it at face value. Media educated users can recognise
media’s potential effects and make good choices about their
and their children’s media exposure.
Nepal is increasingly exposed to all kinds of media messages and
images through dozens of global televisions, half a dozen of national
channels and more than two dozens of FM stations. However, it is
disheartening to learn that the term media education is misused
and misplaced in the education sector and by the educators of journalism
and mass communication.
The syllabus of the Media Studies of the Bachelor of Arts in the
Kathmandu University rationalises the education in the following
terms: “Apart from further consolidating the knowledge in
the area of specialisation, the students will develop the professional
skills required in the respective job sectors. The subjects have
been chosen so as to meet the increasing demand of skilled and trained
human resources in media, education and development and service
organisations. The programme has been developed keeping in consideration
the contemporary needs and requirements of the possible job areas
in various public and private sectors.”
A study of the syllabi of some of the universities and colleges
of Nepal reveal that most of them are teaching mass communication
and journalism in the name of media education. Even the educators
of journalism and mass communication of the campuses have named
their organisation as association of media educators, which is obviously
a misnomer.
As the objectives and role of media is shifting from social servant
and watch dog to a profiteer the importance of media education is
increasing every day. Media education should be a part of school
education from the lower level. The education planners seem to realise,
to some extent, the importance of media education for the young
students. However, at the designing stage of the syllabus it was
mistaken as the journalism education. As a result the students of
Tribhuvan University campuses have to study journalism as a part
of Compulsory Nepali.
Misunderstanding media education and misnaming it for journalism
education has had long-term impact in minimising the importance
of media literacy for the audience of modern mass media, particularly
the youths. Thus, the most vulnerable section of the audience, who
need the media education most are being deprived of it. Its consequences
are now visible in the form of suicide, crime, and sexual violence,
increase of obscenity, disobedience and erosion of cultural and
social values.
(The Kathmandu Post, Education Post, November 14, 2003)
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