Education, mass media and the inherent challenges

Yenning *

First of all, we must acknowledge that the contemporary world is driven by information technology which is constantly evolving faster and faster. Coupled with the ever-growing information technology, advancements in the field of medical science have brought the planet face to face with two predicaments viz; information explosion and population explosion.

Today, throughout the world, social and technological changes are taking place rapidly due to an ever expanding horizon of information. New frontiers of knowledge are opening day by day and the boundaries of human knowledge and understanding are expanding very fast. With the explosion of knowledge, there is a corresponding population explosion.

The student population is immensely increasing year by year due to the growth of population and democratisation of education with varying levels of motivation and aspiration. The problem of population explosion is more serious in the developing countries than in the developed one. India is facing serious difficulties both from population explosion as well as information explosion.

Almost all the developing countries including India have been pursuing different policies, all invariably aimed at achieving more education to more people in less time. This is where the role of media in education becomes one of critical importance.

To achieve ‘more education to more people in less time’, educational technology consisting of various media of mass communication is essentially required. Both qualitative improvement and quantitative expansion of education can be facilitated and accelerated with the help of mass media incorporated and adapted within educational technology.

The media of communication is the medium by which a piece of information or knowledge is communicated to us. This medium is the message, which is of greater importance. Because, the same piece of information when conveyed on a printed page or over the telephone or by radio, or television will appear different and have entirely a different effect on us.

Hence the effectiveness of a piece of information depends upon the medium through which it is imparted. Thus, the mass media are not only the messages, but also the massage. Because it massages the sensory organs and stimulates them to respond actively. Hence, the mass media are very important for class room teaching as a part of the process of instruction.

The sole objective is to improve the teaching-learning process with the use of various media. Therefore, the main purpose of mass-media in education is to benefit more students with fewer teachers or to obtain quality education in lesser time.

Though there are debates about their merits and demerits, media and technology have been introduced into schools because it is believed that they can have positive effects on teaching and learning. Computer-aided teachings have been already introduced in some schools in Manipur too. It’s only a matter of time before other schools follow suit although no comprehensive evaluation on the effectiveness of computer-aided teachings has been done yet.

Media and technology always go together. In fact, it was technology which gave birth to different forms of media and media popularize technology and its advancement. Generally, media include symbol systems as diverse as print, graphics, animation, audio, and motion pictures. Media related technology includes phenomena as diverse as books, films, television, and the internet.

With respect to education, media are the symbol systems that teachers and students use to represent knowledge; technologies are the tools that allow them to share their knowledge representations with others. Yet there is a counter-argument which says that young students should be prohibited access to modern media technology like internet and mobile phones. This argument has its own logic.

Just because middle and high school students use social media to connect with their friends does not mean that websites like Facebook and Twitter do not also have educational value. Many instructors recognize social media’s potential to become a technological teaching tool that can transform any learning environment into a virtual classroom.

Just like anything in excess can be counter-productive, excessive indulgence in social media and unrestrained access to unfiltered contents can prove to be a serious deterrent to education.

NBC News Education states that forbidding students from using websites like Facebook and Twitter at school actually prevents them from gaining the type of experience that can make them successful in their future careers. As most businesses have a presence on social media websites, students who enter the job market with a limited knowledge of social media could be at a disadvantage.

At the same time, social media provide instructors and their students with an opportunity to communicate in a different medium. Teachers can share assignments and information through social media and pupils can develop their technological skills in the process. Mass media brings the entire world to the individual or to the classroom.

Children spend hours together sitting in front of television or computer and can visualize, hear and acquire knowledge about the world. It helps in modification of attitudes, inculcation of desirable values and acquaintance with cultural heritage apart from sending information to remote places, not to mention about its immense contributions in distant learning.

Mass media as means of communication make ideas clear to children and help them to acquire correct knowledge. They help in simplifying and in giving vividness to explanation. Mass media make the instruction concrete and stimulate interest and excite curiosity in things. Education today, therefore, has a far greater responsibility than it had ever before.

It has to meet the demands of a dynamic world which changes its character every day. Contemporary education has to be more comprehensive and complete than it was ever before. The role of the various agencies of education like home, society, community etc. has consequently increased, so has the role of the mass media like television, radio, cinema, newspaper increased.

So now-a-day, press, radio, cinema, television, and of course internet connectivity are becoming indispensable in an individual’s life. No doubt, there are many areas where young students can misuse mass media and mass media can be used to mislead or misguide young minds.

While social media can be a powerful tool for learning and communication, it can also be a breeding ground for misinformation, specially in the wake of the astronomical growth of fake news and propaganda. It is this area students, teachers, parents and guardians must take extra care of.

With volumes of contents on almost all topics shared every single day on platforms like social media like Facebook, WhatsApp and Twitter, it can be difficult to separate fact from fiction or information from misinformation. This is specially true when it comes to controversial topics like politics or health, where there are often conflicting opinions and competing sources of information.

Unfortunately, many students and large sections of people may not have the skills or resources to evaluate the accuracy of what they read online, which can lead to confusion or even socio-political unrest.

Almost all social media algorithms often prioritize content that generates engagement over accuracy. This means that sensationalized or misleading posts are more likely to go viral than those containing accurate information. And this further perpetuates false narratives and limits critical thinking skills. This highlights one of the key unenviable effects of social media on students.

However, by promoting digital literacy skills and encouraging students to question everything they read on social media, we can help combat the spread of misinformation in today’s digital age. In spite of all its merits, many educationists, child activists and scholars alike have pointed out certain negative impacts of mass or social media on students.

Distraction is one of the most prevalent negative effects of social media on students and education. While social media is a helpful tool for learning and collaboration, it can also become addictive and have negative effects on students’ mental health. Social media addiction has been linked to increased stress, anxiety, and depression, with detrimental effects on the learning process.

When students depend too much on social media for their academic requirements, sparing little or no time for books, magazines, journals and other traditional sources of knowledge, their capability for critical thinking is severely limited. Social media addition can have mental and also physical effects on one’s health.

Such students often do not take their meals on time, do not take proper rest, and continuously being on a phone or laptop can also have adverse effects on their eyes. One of the most major detrimental effects of social media on students and education is cyberbullying. Bullies can target their victims with a degree of intensity and perseverance that would be challenging to achieve in person thanks to the anonymity and distance offered by online interactions.

In another word, like any technology, mass media have its own merits and demerits. Herein lies the crucial importance of a regulatory mechanism. Let there be free flow of information and all students should be allowed access to valuable and educative information or knowledge exchanged through mass media.

If one thinks that the volume of information or knowledge exchanged through mass media is too much or contains materials which are detrimental to the physical and psychological growth of students, one can certainly filter out chaffs and the unwanted contents.

By promoting digital literacy skills and encouraging students to question everything they read on social media, we can help combat the spread of misinformation in today’s digital age.

In order to reap maximum benefits for advancement of education from mass media, a balancing act or some sort of regulation is, no doubt, necessary but denying students accessibility to media completely would be self-defeating and too orthodox.