THE ROLE OF MASS MEDIA IN SOCIALIZING CHILDREN (A CASE STUDY OF EDO STATE)
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND TO THE STUDY
Media has turned the world into a global village. It is prominent tool and a best means of one way communication. So, it’s being widely used for everything and for any purpose. It has been playing a significant role in most of all social, political and development sectors due to its power to influence on attitude and behaviour of general public and its outstanding role to design planned and policy on national and international level. Offer the re-advent of democracy in Nepal, the uses of media are intense in every aspect of social, political and economic development. Similarly, media is also playing a major role in promotion of children development. The media have made children more sociable in Edo state and every other city in Nigeria in which children are exposed to the activities of the media.
The term mass media s defined as a means of communication that operate on a large scale reaching and involving virtually everyone in a society to a great or lesser degree. Mass coverage on childhood socialization cannot be over looked. The term socialization is the process of learning interpersonal and interactional skills that conform with the values of one's society. (Stedman’s MedicalDictionary). Again, Socialization is a term used by sociologists, social psychologists, anthropologists, political scientists and educationalists to refer to the lifelong process of inheriting and disseminating norms, customs and ideologies, providing an individual with the skills and habits necessary for participating within his or her own society. Socialization is thus ‘the means by which social and cultural continuity are attained’. Childhood socialization can be categorized into Primary and secondary. Primary socialization occurs when a child learns the attitudes, values, and actions appropriate to individuals as members of a particular culture. Primary socialization for a child is very important because it sets the groundwork for all future socialization. Secondary socialization refers to the process of learning what is the appropriate behavior as a member of a smaller group within the larger society.
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Nigeria can be described as a country that respects culture as well as tradition. Over socialization on the part of children can disregard or disrespect the traditional belief of Nigeria. The influence of the media on the social and psychosocial development of children is profound. Thus, it is important for experts and physicians to discuss with parents their child’s exposure to media and to provide guidance on age-appropriate use of all media, including television, radio, music, video games and the Internet. Today, television particularly movies has become a leading sex educator for children in Nigeria. This is a problem that is difficult to control.
1.3 OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
There is no research work that will be completed without achieving the researcher’s aims and objectives based on the subject matters. Therefore, this segment has played an important role in this chapter one as it aids the reader to the researcher’s target goals at the end of this work.
The objectives of this research are to explore the benefits and the impact of the media on children’s socialization and to identify how media experts can counsel parents and promote the healthy use of the media in their communities.
.