Television Broadcasting, Reality Tv Shows and Moral Development of Nigeria Youths
CHAPTER ONE
Objective of the study
The main objective of this work is Television broadcasting, reality tv shows and moral development of Nigeria youths.
More specifically the following objectives were formulated;
1) To determine the influence of television broadcasting and reality television on instilling patterns of attitude and behavior in youths.
2) To examine the influence of reality television on building attitude that can guarantee the development of Nigerian youths.
3) To determine how television broadcasting and reality television programmes challenge youths to be hardworking.
Chapter Two
Literature Review
Conceptual Framework
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 borLagosm”. 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 borLagosm.
Interestingly, studies have revealed that the amount of hours spent viewing television in America has reduced since the 1990s following the various options at the disposal of the youths. According to Brown and Marin (2009), the number of hours spent watching television has decreased among teens since the early 1990s. For example, among eighth grade youth, the percentage who watched four or more hours of television on the average weekday declined from 36 percent to 29 percent between 1991 and 2006. During that same period, the percentage watching an hour or less per weekday increased from 20 percent to 29 percent. This may not be unconnected with other forms of media usage that became open for the youths in America, like home and school computer access, internet access, cell phone access.
Beyond escaping from borLagosm, Nigerian youths today spend a huge amount of time on television viewing which obviously impacts on their behavior and disposition towards life. They may not particularly be able to use so much off other forms of media even though they may be available due to the cost attached to cell phone and internet usage for example.
CHAPTER THREE
RESEARCH METHODS
Research Design
This study adopted a Descriptive/simple survey research design. A survey research design according to Osuala (2001) centers on individual and their opinion, belief, motivation and behavior. The design was considered suitable since the study will solicit information from respondents in ikeja.
Area of the Study
The study is conducted in Ikeja the capital of Lagos state in Nigeria. The reason for this area is based on the presence of Television broadcasting firms within the capital.
Population of the Study
The population of the study comprised all the 80 staff of Red carpet TV, Galaxy Tv and Hip Tv and 500 youths in Ikeja City, Lagos State Nigeria as at the time of this study.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS, RESULTS AND INTEPRETATION
Introduction
This chapter is concerned with the careful presentation and analysis of the data gotten from the questionnaires. Only responses considered more relevant in the questionnaires were presented and analyzed.
In table 4.3 the Yes and No response with 90% and 10% from the staff shows that they accepted that the television broadcasting and reality television Shows have the capability of instilling patterns of attitude and behavior in youths who watch it.
CHAPTER FIVE
SUMMARY, CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
The purpose of this study is to establish the relationship between Television broadcasting and reality television shows viewing and moral development of young people with reference to youth living in Ikeja, Lagos State. Specifically the study sought to evaluate the television viewing habits of youths; identify the level of exposure to the specific reality television shows channels and programmes viewed by youth of the selected streets in ikeja and determine the influence of reality television shows on moral development. Data gathered for this study were generated from the distribution of the sum of one hundred and twenty copies of questionnaire to a total population of 80 staff and 500 youths. However, only one hundred and twenty copies of questionnaire were filled and returned by the respondents for this study. Based on the data gathered for this research. Furthermore, the study found out that the youth watch reality television shows daily at home. The youth watch reality television for relaxation, enlightenment and entertainment purpose. They watch reality television shows for an average of 2 hours daily. The research also found out that youth have favourite television programmes out of which films/movies ranked the highest among other television programmes viewed by the youth. The study also established that the youth watch television programmes because it; Increase their scope of knowledge. Increase their faith. Lightens up their mood and makes them happy. Helps them improve on their social life. Keep them informed about their environment and beyond, build their attitudes and challenge them to be focus and hardworking. Furthermore, this research discovered that viewing certain television Programmes / contents that portray contents that are unsuitable for young minds have negative influence on their moral development. Such viewing patterns have been linked to incidents of social vices such as, open violence, conflict, nudity, illicit sexual behaviours and drug abuse. Therefore there is need to provide measures to tackle the harmful influence of reality television shows viewing on youth.
Conclusion and Recommendation
From this study, it was concluded that youths are much familiar with the reality television shows. This is evident via their access to television broadcasting and they watch it daily for different purpose. The society seems to be less concerned about youth‟ exposure to the television broadcasting. This is because it is the same society that had enabled and encourages the use of the television broadcasting without considering it influence on young people. The society seems to be quite ignorant about the harm that can be caused by reality tv shows to the youth. As such the findings of this study support the views of scholars who agitates that television is harmful to the cognitive development of young persons.
From the study it was observed that television broadcasting and reality tv shows influence the moral development of youth as a result of their access and exposure to reality shows and its various channels and programmes. Hence, the following recommendations have been formulated:
- Parents and guardians should endeavour to control or minimize the access to television broadcasting and frequency of television viewing by their children. This will enable them to be mindful of the level of attention their children give to the television broadcasting.
- National film and Video Censor‟s Board (NFVCB) should ensure strict rules and regulations on the films and television programmes that contain violence, nudity, illicit acts and drug abuse. Hence, Bans and penalties should be strictly levied on any television stations and channels that deviates from the broadcasting down rules and regulations.
- Youth should try to watch reality tv shows that enhance their moral development.
Reference
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