Regulate TV content to protect youth
Jan 20, 2010
Although the key role of the media should be to inform, educate and entertain, there is a fourth and more subtle role by film industries — to influence viewers.
Although the key role of the media should be to inform, educate and entertain, there is a fourth and more subtle role by film industries — to influence viewers.
With the liberalisation of the media industry in Uganda, some television stations have taken on the role of influencing viewers negatively by telecasting morally deplorable films.
A good proportion of Western films paint a picture, especially to young children, that sexual immorality, disrespect for sanctity of marriage and other negative sexual expressions are the norm in society.
Unfortunately, the National Broadcasting Council (NBC) has not swiftly responded to the cries of many parents concerning the socially harmful material that is shown on television.
Does the NBC monitor material before it is aired on Ugandan screens? Isn’t it the mandate of the NBC to be concerned with the ‘morality of the nation’?
What could be the intention of the proprietors of the broadcasting houses who show such films during the day when children cannot be kept away from watching?
Isn’t it possible that the film industry has a think-tank that is poised to promote particular lifestyles without necessarily coming down to Uganda?
How on earth can we complain about increased sexual immorality and HIV/AIDS in our society, divorce among the married (subject to research, the majority might be the young who have been exposed to the fiction of ‘fake’ marriages, cheating, divorce on our screens) when we are not concerned about what our children are exposed to, yet this is bound to affect their psychology?
Although it would be foolhardy to believe that Ugandan youth can totally be insulated from foreign influence, regulatory measures by NBC can ensure that morally degenerative programmes are telecast in the deep of the night when teenagers are asleep, instead of burdening young minds with experiences that will be the key reference points of handling relationships when they grow up.
With the liberalisation of the media industry in Uganda, some television stations have taken on the role of influencing viewers negatively by telecasting morally deplorable films.
A good proportion of Western films paint a picture, especially to young children, that sexual immorality, disrespect for sanctity of marriage and other negative sexual expressions are the norm in society.
Unfortunately, the National Broadcasting Council (NBC) has not swiftly responded to the cries of many parents concerning the socially harmful material that is shown on television.
Does the NBC monitor material before it is aired on Ugandan screens? Isn’t it the mandate of the NBC to be concerned with the ‘morality of the nation’?
What could be the intention of the proprietors of the broadcasting houses who show such films during the day when children cannot be kept away from watching?
Isn’t it possible that the film industry has a think-tank that is poised to promote particular lifestyles without necessarily coming down to Uganda?
How on earth can we complain about increased sexual immorality and HIV/AIDS in our society, divorce among the married (subject to research, the majority might be the young who have been exposed to the fiction of ‘fake’ marriages, cheating, divorce on our screens) when we are not concerned about what our children are exposed to, yet this is bound to affect their psychology?
Although it would be foolhardy to believe that Ugandan youth can totally be insulated from foreign influence, regulatory measures by NBC can ensure that morally degenerative programmes are telecast in the deep of the night when teenagers are asleep, instead of burdening young minds with experiences that will be the key reference points of handling relationships when they grow up.