THE SIGNIFICANCE OF MEDIA FOR ADOLESCENTS AMIDST THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to examine what role the media played for adolescents during the Covid- 19 pandemic. The World Health Organization (WHO) defines an adolescent as any person between ages 10 and 19. There are more than 300 million adolescent boys and girls in India. The emotional and mental development of adolescent boys and girls depends on many factors, the media being one of them. The main function of the media is to inform, entertain, serve and enlighten the masses. Adolescents are also a major part of our society. The media is expected to meet the content needs of adolescents, but it has been noticed that adolescents are the most neglected social factor during the Covid-19 pandemic. Adolescents are becoming heavy viewers of smartphones and trapping themselves in a trap of cartoon series, games and pornographic content. This is likely to have a detrimental effect on their body and mind. It is the responsibility of the parents, teachers and the media to rescue them from this trap. Media literacy is the only way to hope. This can only be achieved if the government, schools, teachers, parents and the media come together and train adolescents in media literacy in a planned manner. This research is based on observation carried out on adolescents and followed by interviews of parents. This research is based on primary as well as secondary data.