'To Involve' - Yet Another Function of the Media

We are all aware of what the fact that the media performs four functions which are:  

To Inform, To Educate, To Entertain and To Protect. Media also performs yet another important function at various levels. The very function of involving people. Knowingly or unknowingly this is performed by the media.

Media is responsible for involving people, different people, at different times and at different levels. Consciously or unconsciously people become involved with the media. Media involves people; either an individual or group of individuals alike. Many - a - times media successfully involves the masses at one time.


Media more often than not, does not really intend to involve people but this process simply takes place in many instances, rather unconsciously. Media just involves an individual or a group of individuals, but how much the individual or a group of individuals are involved with the media depends entirely on individual(s). This somehow varies form an individual to another.


Take the example of the television. While the television is being viewed by an individual, the person can be fully involved in watching television or he can be distracted. This depends on the individuals' interest in television as a medium and also what he is watching. Families watching television in their living room with full involvement without moving a muscle is a common trend in Indian homes. Again this depends on the group of individuals' involvement with television. In both the scenarios media successfully involves people, but how much it is able to involve people depends on the people.


We can argue that the content plays a major role in involving people. I must say that content apart, likes and dislikes differ from individual to individual as well. So we cannot hold the content solely responsible for being able to involve individugal(s) into the medium.


Before going any further, we must understand two important terms and their usages hear. When I say media I mean the various media like the print, electronic and new media. When I say medium, I mean the various forms of the media. Example the various forms of print media like the newspapers, magazines, journals and more. Print is the 'media' and the 'medium' is the various forms of the media we are referring to.


Consider this. It is the final match of cricket between arch rival India and Pakistan. In a family of five, we cannot expect all the members of the family to be glued to the television to watch the live cricket match. People not only in the family, but on more general terms, watch the match for love of the game of cricket, simply because it is India and Pak finals, or could be because they have nothing to do, they just want to while away time, may because the entire family is watching so they watch with the family. Hear the individuals' involvement varies and it is obvious.


We can quote very many such examples where peoples' involvement with the media can be closely studied. Many are ones we see and come across in our day to day life. One such is while we are traveling by air on a long distance flight, many - a - times a movie is played on board. Out of the people flying some are so involved in the movie that they are unaware of what happing around them, a percentage of them watch the movie and get distracted as well, a hand full of them chat with their co passengers while others simple dose off. Reasons could be many, to kill time might be the prime reason, the movie might be boring for some, and others might have seen the movie already. Again under no circumstances can we blame the content (the movie) hear. Involvement with the medium is entirely up to the individual(s) who are associated with the medium.


We can understand the involvement of individual(s) with the medium they are involved with at three levels, being physical, psychological and emotional. To understand this better let us use cinema as an example. In a cinema theater a cinema is being played. Among the mass audience watching there is an amazing variety. Some will sit in their seat motionless, until the last scene. They will not move a bone come what may, simple because they are 'physically involved' with the cinema. Despite knowing the fact that all said and done it is but a cinema that is being watched, a hand full of audience become so emotionally attached with the cinema. This results in tears of joy or sorrow rolling down their eyes, come any high voltage comedy or tragedy scene. The 'emotional involvement' of these set of audience is but obvious.


This larger than life medium portrays the society's way of life on the huge screen, which makes it all the more easier for a chunk of audience to easily associate themselves with the cinema, as they watch it unfold before their eyes in the dark room. (cinema theater) This set of watchers are successfully able to place themselves in the shoes of the actors and characters of the cinema they are watching, because the scenes of the cinema or the story itself could be similar to what they might have gone through in the past or what they are experiencing or encountering currently. The audience become 'psychologically involved' with the medium. Media successfully involves individugal(s) and masses knowing or unknowingly, consciously or unconsciously.

Mobile Phone usage among Teenagers

My next paper presentation

Mobile Phone usage among Teenagers

A stethoscope is the safest in a doctors hands, a sailor knows best to use a magnetic compass, a ‘t’ scale fits the best in the hands of an engineer, but a mobile phone is for anyone and everyone who can manage to get their hands on. For a toddler it is yet another toy, little does he know the difference between a toy and this gadget, for a pre teen it is an equipment worth experimenting upon, for teenagers it has become part of their daily lives, for people in their twenties it is something they cannot do without, for adults it has become a luxury, a status symbol more than a necessity and the aged consider it an emergency device, that helps when they are in need. Statistics is proof enough of the fact that the people of all age groups around the globe are using mobile phones.

Global warming, psychological trouble and other health problems caused by usage of these gadgets has indeed taken a back seat. Similarly mobile phones have proved to be like a friend in need is a friend in deed on various counts, but the question about what age group of people need make use of this gadget, requires a serious thought.

This study aims at bringing to light teenagers’ mobile phone usage habits at large. It first classifies the various types of teenage mobile users as those who have a mobile phone to themselves, teens who borrow their family members or friends mobile phone when in need and teenagers who use their family members or friends mobile phones on and off.

The intention of the following research is to throw light on the teenagers’ usage patterns of mobile phones in detail, going by factors such as gender, educational and domestic background, performance in academics and extra curricular activities of the teenagers. Media usage habits of teenagers have also been brought to the limelight through this research.

Also the study draws a comparison of the teenage users and non users of mobile phone. Just like people who eat meat and flesh of animals are called non vegetarians and those who do not, called as vegetarians, this research also makes an attempt to coin a term for teenage users and non users of mobile phone.

Place and time have been the motivating factors driving this research. Place because India is the only country in the world that boasts of low mobile tariffs and time because we have reached a stage where every other person around us owns or uses a mobile phone, irrespective of age, gender, economic background and other factors. The research study focuses on teenagers only to draw a conclusion to the argument if they should or they shouldn’t use a mobile phone. Early teens are the ones who are not on their own financially and above all legal procedures in the country do not give them to authority to use a mobile phone in their name. Moreover state governments across the nation have banned the usage of mobile phones in educational institutions. Despite all of this teenagers manage to have a mobile phone to themselves. These are the few factors among many covered in the research.

‘Paradise on Earth’- My Version.

For practical reasons I had to take off contents of the blog. Will e mail the same if you would want to read.