Influencing Adolescent Life Style: The Role of Mass Media

Mass media has long been thought to have a detrimental effect on an adolescent's behaviors. The role of the mass media in shaping of youth's socialization cannot be underestimated. The mass media reaches a large number of the public via radio, television, newspapers and the Internet. The most popular forms of media among the Indian youth are television and mobile phones with internet. The Internet changes mode of life and turns it into the main source of information. It is not merely a global data communication system but also a new form of social interaction including social networking websites. Though the majority of youth reject the idea of strong influence of the mass media on their life, psychological investigations found it to play an important role of the mass media in shaping youth's mentality and world outlook. It was found that not all media is equal in influence. Television and video games have different relationship with a teenager's behaviors in comparison to internet use. It was also found that Adolescents spend a significant amount of time viewing and interacting with media in the form of TV, video games, music, and the Internet. Considering all of these sources together, children spend more than 6 to 7 hours per day using media. Nearly half of that time is spent watching TV. The remainder of the time is spent using other electronic media alone or in combination with TV. This virtual world gives them a sense of satisfaction and they love to stay connected with it.