Television, and Its Effects on the Indian Population
Television, and its effects on the Indian population
Ever since the advent of modern communication technology that has allowed people around the world to communicate ever so easily, the world itself seems like a smaller space. Broadcasting is an especially effective manner through which millions of people are able to become unified on the basis that they are common recipients of a particular message. One of the most powerful transmitters of these messages is of course the television; programs of which can be seen around the world to serve many purposes. In most contemporary societies, television is a highly influential medium of popular culture and plays an important role in the social construction of reality. (Morgan, 1990)
The effects of television should therefore be recognized as having the ability to alter social, economic and political situations in its places of propagation and beyond. I will be exploring these cultural shifts in detail pertaining to India, a developing nation undergoing a grand cultural shift in part due to the rapid growth of satellite television in the 1990 's and its programming. Television is unlike any other medium of mass communication in that its social effects are prominent, and able to prompt substantial change. The strong cultural influence of television on developing nations can therefore be linked to the following factors as outlined in Johnson 's article. First, television programming is easily accessible and inexpensive, which is mainly due to the fact that American television is sold inexpensively around the world after profits in its home market have already been made. Television 's potency is also a result of its broad scope and diversity of programs which therefore makes it appealing to almost anybody. Yet another reason for television 's mass appeal is its benign presence, which allows viewers to be in control of what they watch, how much they watch and when to watch it. (Johnson, 2001) Ultimately, it is these
Ever since the advent of modern communication technology that has allowed people around the world to communicate ever so easily, the world itself seems like a smaller space. Broadcasting is an especially effective manner through which millions of people are able to become unified on the basis that they are common recipients of a particular message. One of the most powerful transmitters of these messages is of course the television; programs of which can be seen around the world to serve many purposes. In most contemporary societies, television is a highly influential medium of popular culture and plays an important role in the social construction of reality. (Morgan, 1990)
The effects of television should therefore be recognized as having the ability to alter social, economic and political situations in its places of propagation and beyond. I will be exploring these cultural shifts in detail pertaining to India, a developing nation undergoing a grand cultural shift in part due to the rapid growth of satellite television in the 1990 's and its programming. Television is unlike any other medium of mass communication in that its social effects are prominent, and able to prompt substantial change. The strong cultural influence of television on developing nations can therefore be linked to the following factors as outlined in Johnson 's article. First, television programming is easily accessible and inexpensive, which is mainly due to the fact that American television is sold inexpensively around the world after profits in its home market have already been made. Television 's potency is also a result of its broad scope and diversity of programs which therefore makes it appealing to almost anybody. Yet another reason for television 's mass appeal is its benign presence, which allows viewers to be in control of what they watch, how much they watch and when to watch it. (Johnson, 2001) Ultimately, it is these
Bibliography: - Fernandes, Leela. "Nationalizing 'the global ': media images, cultural politics and the middle class in India" Media Culture Society, 22 (2000) : 611 - 628. - Johnson, Kirk. "Media and Social Change: the modernizing influences of television in rural India" Media Culture Society. 23 (2001): 147 - 169. - Juluri, Vamsee. "Music Television and the Invention of Youth Culture in India" Television & New Media, 3 (2002): 367 - 386. - Morgan, M. and N. Signorielli (1990) ‘Cultivation Analysis: Conceptualization and Methodology ', pp. 13–34 in N. Signorielli and M. Morgan (eds) Cultivation Analysis: New Directions in Media Effects Research. Newbury Park, CA: Sage. - Malhotra, S and E. Rogers. "Satellite television and the new Indian woman" Gazette, 62 (2000): 407-430