The Impact of Satellite Television on Nigerian Culture
Chapter One
Objective of the Study
General Objectives
The study’s main objective is to assess the impact of satellite television on Nigeria’s culture.
Specific Objective
- To assess the choice of students on the type of movies and films they watch;
- To assess the impact of satellite television programs on students social life;
- To assess the impact of satellite television programs on the lifestyle and appearance of students;
- To assess the impact of Western media on students’ identity.
CHAPTER TWO
LITERATURE REVIEW
Introduction to culture
The legacy of a people lies in their heritage, handed over to them on successive notes from generation to generation. The people of Africa in support to the fore- statement do have it at their forebear to at all times respect and preserve their heritage which forms a great deal of their cultural values. On this note, culture, as seen as the legacy of the African man is tenaciously held to and on a continuum, handed over to subsequent generations for the purpose of sustainability, with the youth population seen as key to its possibility. This can be depicted in a maxim that states—“our culture our pride”. The culture of the African man is seen as his pride, thus, any danger that portends toward it is looked upon as a slap and derogation on the African’s man pride. It is in this light that our statement of problem posited a paradox, in trying to see technological development and globalization as having a two faces on the same coin, with one positing “good” and the other “harm”. It is in this vein that Patricia (2013) posited that ‘the character of the mass media is such that it is expected to bring about positive influence in the lives of its audience through contents that lend credence amongst other things to the preservation of the culture and intrinsic values of the society’. This inevitably forms the base of this research work in trying to assert the extent to which Western Television Programmes have influenced the cultural values of our youth population in Nigeria, with particular reference to Taraba State University as a case study.
The research work contains certain conceptualizations that must be relatively reviewed and clarified. These concepts have been operationalized in the previous chapter and they include among others:
-Culture
-Western Television Programmes in Nigeria
-Globalization
-Sustainability
Culture
The word culture stems etymologically from the Latin word “cultura” which literally means to “cultivate” (Encyclopedia, 2014). Humans are social animals who grow and develop a sense of life style in the traditional behavioural patterns of their varying societies. This is cultivated over time in the existence of a being and is initially and continuously passed on to the individual following the fact of socialization and its agents which include: family, school, church, work place, peer groups, and the media.
It is in light of this that the Cultural Policy of Nigeria as stated in Anyakoroma (2011) defines culture to be the totality of the way of life evolved by the people in an attempt to meet the challenge of living in their environment, giving order and meaning to their political, social, economic, aesthetic and religious norms and modes of organization, thus distinguishing a people from their neighbours.
From the foregoing, culture and its features symbolize a mode of identity and create the consciousness of a feeling of dichotomy. It is also an instrument to which social order can be ensured and maintained. The consciousness of this feeling and its attendant consequences generate varying views and perceptions of the world which further culminate into forming a value system for our existence as humans. It is to this end that the attributes of culture will be examined to lend more credence to the overview of this concept.
CHAPTER THREE
METHODOLOGY OF THE RESEARCH
Research Design
The researcher used cross-sectional study design in which the data was collected at once in the study area. The main reason for using cross-sectional study design is to minimize financial expenditure and saves time for the researcher.
Study Population
This study covered students in Osun state polytechnic, Iree, Ogun state. It also included any concerned body related to the issue in the study area in regard to the impact of satellite television on Nigerian culture.
CHAPTER FOUR
DATA ANALYSIS AND PRESENTATION
Background Information of Respondents
Table 1: Distribution of Respondents based on their Sex and Age Category
CHAPTER FIVE
CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Conclusion
In general, this research provides a good deal of information on the impact of satellite television on Nigerian culture. Although the researcher cannot generalize from a few samples to the whole students in Osun state polytechnic, the findings of this study, however, indicate the potential impact of foreign media contents and popular cultural products especially on students who are the most active in absorbing foreign media contents and consuming foreign cultural products.
The usage of Western TV by students now seems to have reached a stage that could affect all people’s perception. In terms of Western popular cultural products, exposure to media is likely to result in more favorable perception. The Western media is likely to exert modeling effect on students, making it more likely to costumes and hair styles like characters in films and satellite televisions.
In conclusion, the majority of the samples studied spend their leisure time watching films and satellite televisions. Basically, they watch for the purpose of information and entertainment. But it is observed that satellite televisions affect their social interaction because, they spend their leisure time enjoying satellite television programs rather than socializing. The data showed that the majority of respondents consider television characters as their role models and they consider television program as a mechanism to learn different languages.
Another factor investigated through this research was a cultural practice that was dealing with language, dressing, hair styles and some other practices. students who watch satellite television experience greater degree of effects on their cultural practices. They imitate different styles and appearances of satellite television characters which are different from our culture, tradition and way of life.
Recommendation
The researcher comes up with the following recommendations to minimize the impact of Western media.
It is suggested that local channels should be strengthened and programs should have better contents. Local channel should produce and broadcast quality programs that could help promoting Nigerian values and traditions which improve the image of the people and the country.
Parents need to socialize their students with Nigerian cultural practices values and tradition.
The indigenous mode of dressing should be encouraged and promoted to make use of traditional dress.
Parents must arrange a definite program for their students as to when to attend such channel programs and which films.
Reference
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