The Influence of Western Culture on the Nigerian Youths (Case Study of Takum L.G.A)
Chapter One
AIMS AND OBJECTIVES OF STUDY
This study aims to highlight and understand the influence that Western culture have on the Nigerian youths, especially with regards to what they wear, and how they greet, and find out reasons for the prevailing situation, more specially the objectives of this study include to;
- Find out and assess the impact of foreign culture on Takum youth’s culture.
- Assess the extent of the impact of those media contents on the country’s youths, especially about what they wear.
- Find out if there are factors responsible for this influence.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction
Cultural identity as self-definition, self-perception and self- image of a person as a member of a group exhibiting uniform culture that are consistent with the values of that group. We will be exploring on reviews on the influence of western culture on our Nigerian youths and this study will be presented in sub-category like source of review, review of relevant literature, theoretical framework and the summary of the review.
Sources of Literature
The actual literature reviewed for this study are books, news paper, journals of communication, professional publications both published and unpublished works, seminar works, projects, etc and from centre for communication research Benue, Benue State library, and number of newspapers house offices in Benue.
Conceptual Studies
Youths and Television
The combination of pictures and sounds that go along with television no doubt make it appealing to the audience.
However the extent that this can drive the viewer is what may not be easily ascertainable but may require long and consistent studying. Schramm (n.d), in Adagun (2013), identified two main classes of reasons why youths watch television. First is escapism, the common reason. Schramm and his colleagues described this as “the passive pleasure of being entertained, living a fantasy, taking part vicariously in thrill play, identifying with exciting and attractive people, getting away from real-life problems, and escaping real-life boredom”. The second, but usually passive reason for watching television is the information component that is, the desire to know and understand the world they live in. To further explain this, it is suggested that “the girls say they learn something about how to wear their hair, how to walk and speak how to choose garments for a tall or a short or a plump girl, by observing the wellgroomed creatures on TV. Boys on the other hand will also learn “manners and customs and how young men dress”.
Lodziak (1986) also suggests that of the time spent on television viewing, approximately 70% of it goes to entertainment programmes, a little over 20% to informational programmes, and about 5% goes to cultural programmes. This is probably because of the constant need to be free and escape from boredom.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
This study is designed to find out the influence of western culture on the Nigerian youths. This goal cannot be achieved unless the research work is orderly, imaginative, logical and accurate.
Hence, this chapter is associated with the research method used in carrying out the work. The pertinent pointed here is that, it helps to know which method is appropriate for the project.
RESEARCH DESIGN
It is an acceptable fact that research design is the basic plan that guide data collection and the analysis phase of any research work. The design of a research can be regarded as the frame-work which specifies the type of information to be gathered including the source of data and the procedure used in collecting them.
Therefore, on the basis of this study, the research design used for collecting the required information is the survey analysis on the basis of self-administrated questionnaire, interview and personal observation. The analysis of the data collected is based on descriptive and inferential statistical tools of measuring data. The primary and secondary data are source of information on influence of western culture on the Nigerian youths.
AREA OF THE STUDY
The geographical location of this research work is within the local government area Takum, Taraba State.
POPULATION OF THE STUDY
The population of the study can be said to be animate or inanimate things which a study is focused. It could be class, school, libraries, towns, local government area, states, nations or persons the research is interested in getting information for the study (Nnayelugo: 2001).
In this research study, The LGA comprises of about two hundred and four thousand five hundred youths. But based on this study, four hundred youths were selected for this study using the simple and systematic random sampling method.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION
The response rate of this study is 120 and the administered questionnaires needed were properly answered. The results of this study are presented in tables and percentages which will correctly provide clarity in understanding. Chi – square is the important statistical equipment used in testing the significance of the result using 98% level of confidence with 0.05% of error probability level.
For this study, 400 questionnaires would have been distributed to respondents; but based on time and money limit, I distributed 200 questionnaires to respondents. I50 were returned 30 were discarded for several reasons including incomplete data or unnecessary information. This distribution however, was spread over the youths of Takum LGA, Taraba.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, RECOMMENDATION AND CONCLUSION
SUMMARY
This study contains an analysis of the broad areas presumed scientific research which have showed that exposure to Western origin exercises a powerful influence on the cultural values of viewers from other countries.
In this study, concentration was on Western television as the independent variables and the cultural identity of Nigerian youths.
The role which television plays in transmission of cultures across national frontiers has been reviewed in this study. This ability of television is a function of its qualities rhetoric, imagery, style and language pervasiveness, culture, consistence, repetitiveness etc which collectively make it the highly successful medium that it has become.
The uses and gratification theory have provided ready explanation of why the youths highly associate with the medium which provide them with message and images that they view and accept.
The theoretical synthesis of acculturation, cultivation, mainstreaming, projection and perception of reality taken within the ideological perspective of media hegemony, have shown that television can be used positively or otherwise to foster the growth and development of culture, to assimilate, or completely destroy it. The television was also shown to be a good, but not in any way a dominating contributory to the unhealthy desire by Nigerian youths to emigrate to the Western world.
RECOMMENDATIONS
With the implications of the findings been clearly put in focus in the preceding chapters, it is the researchers’ view that no further time should be wasted in apportioning blames to individuals or bodies for their roles in the cultural imperialism issue.
The cultural media domination that does exist in the Nigeria content can only take place within the complicity and social consent of the dominated cultures (Cuthbert 1985) and Nigerian youths as well as other audience members seen to offer willing compliance.
However, the following recommendations are put forward by the researcher as means of putting an end to our cultural values genocide and communication neo-colonialism.
- The media managers and practitioners as gate-keepers must develop a Nigerian cultural inclination and consciousness that will allow for the production of programmes reflecting the Nigerian idiom, develop its own television rhetoric and creative ability.
- The Nigerian journalist should be aware of his responsibilities towards the community which is the principle way of helping development. As long as he realizes that the conduct of his duty has bearing on mind what is good for the society, then he will always guard against feeding his audience with imperialistic messages.
- The broadcast houses should also create and project an in-house policy requiring that staff must aim their indigenous name at least while on air. This will make people especially the youths to identify themselves as Africans and not imitators of Europeans and Americans. This recommendation may sound trivial but it will likely go a long way to restoring the pride of being Africans or Nigerian youths. The efforts of African independent television (AIT) in this respect are highly welcomed.
- Also, a policy should be formulated to ensure that only professionals take charge of the business of films movies production.
Further studies should also explore the possible relationship between viewership of Western media and the academic performance of Nigerian students which according to WAEC and JAMB results of recent years appear to be dwindling.
CONCLUSION
The researches of this research problem have shown that youths of Nigeria can confront the problem of Western media programmes destroying our cultural values.
The educators, parents, community leaders, elites should also by this means help the youths confront the undignified and distorted images so prevalent in Western television.
Given the number of broadcast houses in existence in Nigeria, the researcher believes the country is ready for broad equipment manufacturing industry. The private and public sector should consider this angle more seriously so as to reduce the total dependence of Nigerian broadcast industry on industrialized journey.
Considering the scope and limitations of this study along with its findings, there is need for further speech research in this area. Further research in this area should involve a control group to be consisted of youths who are in the rural areas where television is not available. More studies should also be geared toward defining the cultural values of Nigeria as an entity and as such denies ways of packaging these uniting materials for broadcast to Nigeria.
The researcher also believes that there is a better tomorrow if the above recommendations are followed towards restoring the cultural values of Nigerian youths.
Finally, the researcher believes that the educators, community leaders, television houses (government and private), the censorship board etc can help in further research on this topic in order to solve this destroyable element of our indigenous cultures.
SUGGESTION FOR FURTHER STUDIES.
Due to the research limitations, time and resource. The researcher suggests that further research should be done on this topic base on the following:
(1) How to discourage the Nigerian youths from watching Western movies
(2) How to improve locally produced product
(3) How to discourage Nigerian youths from imitating Western Stars.
REFERENCES
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