In some countries, television and radio programs are carefully censored for offensive language and behavior. In other countries, there is little or no censorship.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------
The observation mentioned in the statement seems to be quite thought provoking and interesting, and while analyzing the same keeping in view several of the aspects associated with it, I reach the conclusion that government or an appropriate censor body should be able to censor television or radio programs.
To begin with, it is common knowledge that media influences the behavior of almost everyone in its target audience to some degree. As a corollary, it has been observed quite frequently that if children, or juvenile minds are exposed to programs having gross content, their behavior and outlook is unwittingly and undesirably influenced by such programs. For instance, they may pick up foul language or may learn how to behave inappropriately, or make nuisance of anyone in the society.
Then again, if we consider the wider cross section of society that is influenced by media, it becomes obvious that many people lack the maturity to handle the content that is depicted in the television/radio programs. A case in point may be cited when people who do not know any better than what is shown in those programs might start thinking that the offensive language or the behavior is the standard way of conducting oneself, rather than the well defined rules of decorum in a civilized society. This is in turn may beget a big problem of fostering unruly citizens, completely devoid of civic sense and basic manners.
Furthermore, in today's world, we encounter shrinking boundaries between societies and nations, whereby people mingle increasingly with one another and gain cross-cultural exposure through means of students exchange, festivals, sports etc., to name a few . In such cases, it's essential to ensure that the negative influences of one person's personality does not permeate across a wider section of people, and television and radio programs play a pivotal role because the visualization and dissemination of any event among common people is primarily done by these two media.
It may be argued though that anything on which censorship is imposed can arouse more curiosity in the minds of people, or that there are several other means as internet through which inappropriate content may be reaching people, rendering the censorship ineffective. Also, many countries place absolute faith in the discretion and maturity of their citizens, as far as selection of what type of content they should be exposed to is concerned.
However, it ought to be remembered that while censorship of television and radio is not fool-proof, the lack of censorship is also not a viable alternative. In fact, every effort should be made to control the content of other forms of media also to ensure that a reasonable degree of censorship exists, rather than giving a Carte Blanche to media. Also, the control or censorship in even the most liberal countries is "graded", i.e., the content in media is classified as per criteria such as age, because it's a no brainer that very rarely individuals are mature in their youth, and this automatically calls for guidance and discretion.
Thus, in summary, to ensure that the moral fabric of the society remains intact, it is essential that there should be a proper censorship of television and radio programs to filter out the unsavory content, which serve no useful purpose and may only pervert and harm the impressionable minds.
---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------------------------------
The observation mentioned in the statement seems to be quite thought provoking and interesting, and while analyzing the same keeping in view several of the aspects associated with it, I reach the conclusion that government or an appropriate censor body should be able to censor television or radio programs.
To begin with, it is common knowledge that media influences the behavior of almost everyone in its target audience to some degree. As a corollary, it has been observed quite frequently that if children, or juvenile minds are exposed to programs having gross content, their behavior and outlook is unwittingly and undesirably influenced by such programs. For instance, they may pick up foul language or may learn how to behave inappropriately, or make nuisance of anyone in the society.
Then again, if we consider the wider cross section of society that is influenced by media, it becomes obvious that many people lack the maturity to handle the content that is depicted in the television/radio programs. A case in point may be cited when people who do not know any better than what is shown in those programs might start thinking that the offensive language or the behavior is the standard way of conducting oneself, rather than the well defined rules of decorum in a civilized society. This is in turn may beget a big problem of fostering unruly citizens, completely devoid of civic sense and basic manners.
Furthermore, in today's world, we encounter shrinking boundaries between societies and nations, whereby people mingle increasingly with one another and gain cross-cultural exposure through means of students exchange, festivals, sports etc., to name a few . In such cases, it's essential to ensure that the negative influences of one person's personality does not permeate across a wider section of people, and television and radio programs play a pivotal role because the visualization and dissemination of any event among common people is primarily done by these two media.
It may be argued though that anything on which censorship is imposed can arouse more curiosity in the minds of people, or that there are several other means as internet through which inappropriate content may be reaching people, rendering the censorship ineffective. Also, many countries place absolute faith in the discretion and maturity of their citizens, as far as selection of what type of content they should be exposed to is concerned.
However, it ought to be remembered that while censorship of television and radio is not fool-proof, the lack of censorship is also not a viable alternative. In fact, every effort should be made to control the content of other forms of media also to ensure that a reasonable degree of censorship exists, rather than giving a Carte Blanche to media. Also, the control or censorship in even the most liberal countries is "graded", i.e., the content in media is classified as per criteria such as age, because it's a no brainer that very rarely individuals are mature in their youth, and this automatically calls for guidance and discretion.
Thus, in summary, to ensure that the moral fabric of the society remains intact, it is essential that there should be a proper censorship of television and radio programs to filter out the unsavory content, which serve no useful purpose and may only pervert and harm the impressionable minds.
