Effect of Media on Human Behaviour

Abstract

In this era of technological advancement, media as technologies have dramatically affected the human behaviour and have easily drawn a connection between the virtual world and the real world. Digital technologies are not only the daily tools of communication, information and entertainment for people but have become omnipresent and an integral part of people’s lives. In today’s digital world, the media can give you ideas, it can inspire you to do certain things and drive you to initiate what you see. The media controls the society and is capable of changing human behaviour, living style and moral thoughts and consequences. Media reflects in two ways i.e. positive as well as negative; as media does not produces the real happening of a world, rather creates a new world. The main aim of this research is to study the impact of media on human behaviour. It also aims to create difference between the virtual and the real world. This study would be able to bring out whether trending mass media does influence the youth’s behaviour so as to decide whether to act in a manner parallel to the virtual world or see the practical-real aspect. And also aims to examine the effect of time period of accessing media on the human behaviour. The research design used is ‘Survey through Questionnaire’ with an accidental sampling of 60 people between the age of 15-24 yrs (youth). The questionnaire includes questions pertaining to the subject’s behaviour, influence, preference and thoughts. Everyday incidents relating to recent media trends is visible which leads people to commit acts which have been influenced by popular media and how such behaviour can be disastrous to human life. The newspaper articles shows the changes in human behaviour according to media which is also be studied to lay a base of media’s psychological impact and further interpretation has been based according to the replies given to questionnaire as to what extent it can be influencing, harmful and how should media be utilised. The expectations from this research would be that the behavioural changes are brought by media in the youth and that these changes are quite significant which leads them to act accordingly.