The Media and Its Affect on the Conduct of the Youths

Adopted from the book : "A Glance at the World of Youth" by : "Al-Balagh Foundation"

In our present world, the means of communication and conveying thoughts and information, has developed rapidly, seeming to travel at the speed of light and sound, and reaches every angle of the world within a few seconds. There are a great number of institutions, equipment and special devices for mass enlightenment, establishing general opinions and individual resolutions.

In addition, the means of communication and information, like television, radio, internal waves, computers, newspapers, books, magazines...have become the dominant power upon the thoughts and a means of establishing a pattern for conduct. Therefore, the media contributes in the establishment of political thoughts, as well as, individual positions and thoughts, and it contributes immensely, especially the pictorial type, like, television, cinema, Video, and pornographic magazines, in affecting the general thought and conduct of the people.

The youths - especially at the puberty stage - are active and ready, more than other people, to copy other personalities, and are influenced by the people who appear on the screen of television or cinema.

They are influenced by other people who play a vital role in the political, social and revolutionary arena, as well as, great historical heroes. This is because a youth - whether male or female - is in the stage of building his or her personality. Therefore, he or she needs someone to copy. Since instinct and desires, especially the sexual instinct, are at their highest peak and putting pressure on the youths, so they are looking for a solution to it, therefore, the media have contributed, immensely, in stirring and arousing the sexual instinct by means of pornographic and seductive films, pictures, stories, as well as, cultures, like the use of guerilla warfare tactics and aggression in films which contribute, a lot, in deviating the youths and teaching them criminal acts. In view of this, some governments are prohibiting the showing of pornographic and guerilla warfare films, often prohibiting the youth from attending the theaters where these films are shown.

The result of the statistics on viewing videos conducted by Dr. Alexander Aldila in Lebanon shows that: "The viewing of social and emotional films wins the first position while detective films win the second position ..." 10

Another report states that: The studies conducted in the U.S on 110 people in a corrections institute show that 49% of them got the desire of carrying weapons from watching the cinema and 12-21 % of them found the audacity to steal and kill police from the same source. While the studies conducted on 252 deviated young girls, between the ages of 14-18, shows that 25% of them had sexual relationships as a result of watching pornoqraphic films in the cinema and 41 % of them were led to glamorous ceremonies, night theaters and 54% of them cut school in order to watch films, while 17% of them left their homes as a result of the conflict between them and their family on going to the cinema.

A W.H.O report and, also, a French Judge, about the factors of deviation, say: "I don't have any doubt that some films, especially detective films, play a great, harmful role in most of the cases."

A questionnaire and cross examination on 1344 personalities conducted in Britain on the relationship between the cinema and corruption of children under 16, found that 600 of them answered that there is a relationship between the cinema and children's deviation. Other studies also show that most of the stealing and robbing, which happens in the West, has an effect from the cinema. 11 At last, it can be concluded that watching emotional films, pornographic and detective films is corrupting people, and furthermore, as scientific studies comfirm, the youth at this stage, can be influenced by all this, because he is on the verge of his growth. From all these statistics, we can deduce that the work of the mass media in the formation of emotions and conduct involving instinct, as well as, copying the role of the heroes, is important.

Notes :

10. The Role of Communication and Information in a Complete Personality, page 315.