Media And Social Changes

“It is not the strongest of the species that survive, or the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.”
—Charles Darwin
Change, as we all know and experience in everyday life, affects all states and stages of existence, no matter how determined or defiant we may pose to be. Even a very well-knit society may not be able to withstand the tremors of change, which are natural and nuanced.
Earlier, the print media exercised its potential of change in attitude and approach of such people as were literate and were fond of the ‘printed word’ in newspapers, journals and magazines. With the onset- rather the onslaught of electronic or visual media as represented by countless channels, both national as well as foreign, the change in thought and outlook of most sections of society has undergone a sea change.
It is not only the fads and fashions, beliefs and values that have been undergoing dramatic and drastic changes, but also the contours and contents of social structure. In recent years, the most decisive agent of this palpable and perceptible change has been the media, both print and visual.
With its vast range and reach, scope and spectacle, media enjoys the privilege of such influence and impact as no individual and society can escape. That the old taboos and inhibitions have been discarded by the upcoming generation of yuppies and upwardly mobile professionals is a proof enough of media’s power over people’s susceptibilities and sensibilities.
As a result of media’s robust role in the making and moulding of a social fabric, one can see arid scan the most discernible change in the Indian middle class and other urban segments (including, of course, to a lesser degree, the slum/shanty dwellers and persons living below the poverty line) and feel convinced that media is not only a cogent catalyst but also an agent of most telling transformation.
It is due to media’s message that the concept of small/nuclear family has become a reality, although this.