ABSTRACT
Nigerian citizens’ morality is threatened by the increasing distribution of content as a result of licensing broadcasters on a variety of television channels. Citizens are exposed to content that is broadcast in an uncontrolled environment with modern television sets. The citizen’s morality is threatened by many factors such as his/her immediate environment, media education and available information. It is, therefore, necessary that this threat is brought to light. This research aimed at assessing the impact of media education on the morality of the residents in Uyo Urban, a case study of Esa Iban tv program broadcasted by Akwa Ibom Broadcasting Corporation (AKBC). The study had three specific objectives: to establish the influence of media education with emphasis on local television Esa Iban content on the morality of Uyo residents; to establish the influence of the length of exposure time to television on the morality of Uyo residents; and ascertain how television programs Uyo residents are exposed to influence their morality. A descriptive exploratory study was used to achieve the three objectives. The study was conducted in Uyo Lga of Akwa Ibom state. The target population was made up of the 338 Uyo residents in residential areas in Uyo Lga. Stratified random sampling was used to obtain the target sample of 78 residents in Uyo. Those who actually participated in the research were 60 youths and 60 parents making a response rate of 76.9 percent. Data were collected by use of questionnaires for Uyo residents. Analysis of the data was done using graphical presentations, mean, percentages and regression. The analysis established that television content influence the morality of a Uyo residents who are exposed to it. Television exposure time also influenced the morality of Uyo residents. Thirdly, the study also established that television program types influence the morality of Uyo residents. This study recommends a national policy be put in place to guide television program transmitters regarding how they can make programs that bear in mind the needs of Uyo residents. AKBC staff and broadcasters should team up to develop more programs that will keep Uyo residents constantly educated and enhance good moral conduct among residents in Uyo.
CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
According to Crosbie (2012), television refers to a communication channel in which information is sent to a large number of people or to the mass of people. Bennet (2012) not only means the term “crowd” of a large number of people because it is not easy to tell when a group of people is growing, but the term refers to an undifferentiated audience. The way television communicates evolves as technology advances.
However, television is part of the media. The media are divided into three categories: press media; Radio and television; and the Internet. The press media include newspapers and magazines. The radio and television category also includes movies. The Internet is becoming more powerful due to its ability to carry all other media (Crosbie, 2012).
The term “morality” is not easy to define. According to Frankena (2018), it is difficult to distinguish between what is moral and what is not. Gert (2012) notes that the term “morality” descriptively refers to certain codes of conduct proposed by society or another group, such as religion. It also refers to a code of conduct that a person has adopted for his or her own behavior. The term can normatively refer to codes of conduct that all rational people propose in certain circumstances.
According to Wiredu (2012), morality is universal and necessary for human culture. People follow rules to align the interests of the individual with other interests in society. Morality means both meeting the requirements of harmony of interests and meeting those requirements, even if this means limiting one’s own interests.
According to Gyekye (2016), morality is a collection of social rules and norms that are assumed to define people’s behavior in society. Regulations and norms arise and anchor people’s beliefs about good, evil, good and evil. Morality is social and stems from relationships between individuals. He says there would be no morality without human society.
Kohlberg (2011) identifies six stages of morality. In the first stage, the physical consequences of action determine its goodness or badness regardless of the human meaning or value of these consequences. Avoidance of punishment and unquestioning obedience towards the source of power are values in their own right. In the second stage, what constitutes right action is basically what satisfies one’s own needs and, occasionally, the needs of others. Elements of fairness, reciprocity, and equal sharing are present, but they are always interpreted in a physical, pragmatic way. These two stages make the Pre-conventional Level of morality.
In the second level as suggested by Kohlberg (2011), are the third and fourth stages. This level is called the Conventional Level. In stage three, good behavior is what pleases or helps others and is approved by them. The stage is characterized by conformity to stereotypical images of what is majority behavior. In stage four, the individual is oriented toward authority, fixed rules, and the maintenance of social order. In this stage, the focus is on doing one’s duty, showing respect for authority, and maintaining the given social order.
The third level of morality is the Post-Conventional, Autonomous, or Principled Level. This level has stages five and six. In stage five, the right action tends to be defined basing on general individual rights and standards that have been critically examined and agreed upon by the whole society. In this stage there is a clear awareness of the relativism of personal values and opinions. In the sixth stage, Right is defined by the decision of conscience in accord with self-chosen ethical principles that appeal to logical comprehensiveness, universality, and consistency. The principles applied are abstract and ethical (Kohlberg 2011),
The influence of television on morality was noticed way back by Stein (2013). She noted that television, like all other mass media at that time, presented content and values that were often contrary to the predominant values of the society. For instance, television emphasized violence and illegal action and perpetuated a system in which groups of people are devalued because of sex, race, age, and other such criteria. She asserted that there was reason to believe that that type of television content influence youth’s moral behavior. This manifested through increased aggression, lowered self-control and greater likelihood of morally deviant behavior. She also noted that many positive moral values and behaviors can also be conveyed to youths through television presentations.
About four decades later, Cheung (2019) acknowledges that the television and other mass media in Hong Kong have molded the environment in which citizens now live. He acknowledges the impact of the Television watching on pupils in Hong Kong and the rest of the world. He noted that television exerts such a great influence on pupils. He stood for the use of the Television providing moral education.
The work of Stein (2013) and Cheung (2019) show that there is a close relationship between television watching and morality. This indicates that television influences morality. The content of the television determines what pupils consider good or bad and will shape their behavior according to this interpretation.
Huesmann, Moise-Titus, Podolski, and Eron (2013) show a close relationship between what youths watch on TV and the youth’s observed behavior. In a longitudinal study they conducted in the USA on youth’s behavior after exposure to violent television programs, they established that the youths also elicited violence in their behavior later in life. The findings indicated that youths behave according to what they watch on television. This position is reiterated by Kirkorian, Wartella, and Anderson (2018) who established that there was close relationship between what youths below the age of two and their cognitive development. Exposure of such youths to violent TV deterred the youth’s cognitive development while exposing youths to programs designed around an educational curriculum improved their cognitive and academic enhancement.
Africa is undergoing a transition from analogue to digital broadcasting in line with the rest of the world. In Sub-Saharan Africa, the transmission function is increasingly being separated from the content creation function. In Uganda, for instance the Government broadcaster is split into two different entities: one entity will be the signal carrier for all other TV broadcasters while the other entity will continue to produce a TV channel to be transmitted.
Nigerian TV broadcasting is fairly regulated. The main regulator in the Nigerian media industry is the Nigerian Television Authority (NTA). The NTA is a federal corporation that independently regulates the communications industry. The key regulatory policy instruments in the Nigerian media industry are the Nigeria Communications Act.
The digitization of TV has opened up access to TV by Nigerians of all walks of life and age. While NTA controls the issue and use of TV frequencies, it does not have equally strict control over the content of transmissions. As a result, much of the control of the content available to all viewers, including youths is done by bodies such as Nigeria Union of Journalists (NUJ) etc. Other controls are mainly voluntary especially by parents at home. Such weak controls allow youths to choose the channels to watch on their own, exposing them to content that can adversely influence their behavioural and cognitive development (Oduho, 2014).
1.2 Statement of the Problem
Research results on the impact of television on behavior changes vary. Bajovic’s study (2012) attempts to find out how the violent patterns, habits, and attitudes of video games affect moral thinking and young people’s attitudes towards real-life violence. The study found that the more time young people spend violent video games and the less moral response, the greater the likelihood of young people becoming violent. Kirsh’s previous work (2015) supported this position and found a close connection between television and youth behavior.
However, the results of the studies by Anderson and Warburton (2012) are different. The purpose of his research was to find out whether exposure of teenagers to violent video games would affect their behavior. The premise of the work is that a large number of young people who are exposed to violent video games will have a negative impact on young people’s behavior. The study found that while youthren’s exposure to television content is associated with behavior changes, behavior changes vary from youth to youth. Therefore, it is impossible to tell youthren clearly how to watch TV.
According to Musau (2019) mass communication print and the electronic media has undergone sweeping changes. The changes have occurred in terms of media liberalization. In view of media liberalization, a state monopoly of the television is now a thing of the past. In Nigeria there is a plethora of privately owned competing newspapers, Television and other publications. This exposes the youth to a wide variety of uncontrolled content from the television. No known study has been done in Nigeria to establish whether or not this exposure to wider content of the television influence the level of moral reasoning in Nigerian youths. To fill this gap, this study sought to establish the influence of media education and local television program (Esa Iban) aired on AKBC TV on the morality of residents in Uyo Lga of Akwa Ibom state.
1.3 Purpose of the Research
The purpose of the research was to establish the influence of television on the morality of residents in Uyo Lga development of their youths.
1.4 Objectives of the Research
The specific objectives of the research were to:
Establish the influence of Esa Iban content on the morality of residents in Uyo Lga of Akwa Ibom state.
Establish the influence of the length of exposure time to television on the morality of residents in Uyo Lga of Akwa Ibom state.
Establish how local television programs youths are exposed to influence the morality of residents in Uyo Lga of Akwa Ibom state.
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