The Impact of Mass Media on Rural Development

Bhumika B. Gohel

Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Smt. P.R. Patel Arts College, Palasar Dist-Patan Gujarat

*Corresponding Author E-mail: dr.vinaypatel1976@gmail.com

ABSTRACT:

Mass media refers to communication devices, which can be used to communicate and interact with a large number of audiences in different languages. In the current situation, the role of mass media is very import to upgrade the rural society. It can stimulate the rural people towards progress. The mass media have been used at once for transmission of development communications to the people of this society as in others. The aim of the present study is explore the role of mass media in rural development in District Bhavnagar. This study was conducted in two tehsils of District Bhavnagar (Tehsil Talaja and Tehsil Mahuva). After choosing the Tehsils, four union councils, two from each tehsil were selected through random sampling method. At the end a proportional sample 120 respondents were selected randomly and interviewed by using a well-designed interview schedule. The collected data were analyzed by using SPSS software. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used for data analysis. It was found a huge majority (81.7%) of the respondents were watching TV without cable connection, whereas more than a half (55.0%) of the respondents had cable connection. A substantial proportion (58.3%) of the respondents had perception ‘to a great extent’ that the mass media presents the awareness program about rural development. A huge majority (70.0%) of the respondents had thinking ‘to a great extent’ that the mass media presents the political awareness program. Majority of them were also agreed that mass media presents the information about the government/NGOs policies regarding rural development. More than a half i.e. 57.5 percent of the respondents had opinion ‘to a great extent’ and 25.0 percent of them had opinion ‘to some extent’ that the mass media presents the educational policies of the government for rural areas. The Government should take steps to raise literacy rate in the rural area.

KEYWORDS: Awareness program, Pamphlets, Educational, Communicate, Alternatively, Stratification, Weaknesses, Respondents, Subsequent

INTRODUCTION:

The mass media included several media technologies that are envisioned to influence large viewers. Broadcast media (also called as electronic media) communicate the facts electronically and include television, radio, movies, and certain other media like cameras and video raise. Alternatively, print media use a fleshly item for sending their facts, such as a newspaper, magazines, brochures, newsletters, books, leaflets and pamphlets (Potter, 2008).

Internet media is capable to attain mass media rank in its personal right. The many services such as email, websites, blogging, Internet television are provided by this mass media. In this way, numerous mass media openings have a being there on the web. TV ads is also type of mass media that links to a website. The internet mass media introduce such programs which are helpful in several way of life of the people. The Internet has enough information which can simply be broadcast to several different areas of the worldwide instantaneously. Out-of-doors media is a usage of mass media that includes ads, symbols, posters internally or externally sited for marketable buildings and items like factories and workshops, airborne posters, airships, and skywriting. Community language and incident establishing can also be measured with the help of mass media (Manohar, 2011).

The development journalist is one who is industrious enough to look beyond the polished news releases and briefings put out by well endowed foreign organizations, and curious enough to find local sources of expertise. Such a journalist must be brave enough to present home-grown solutions to pressing development problems. Development journalists travel to remote areas to report on happenings there. This type of journalism acts as a tool for social justice, speaking for the voiceless, looking at the strengths and weaknesses of a country and in so doing identifying ways in which the nation can be helped (Fleury, 2008).

This stratification of distribution occurs not only between urban and rural areas, as much pervious evidence attests, but more important the areas themselves, television is the mass media with the greatest diet bias in most developing countries and radio is the most generally available however, even radio is quite the social strata. The majority of rural people in underdeveloped countries are found to live in a state of “under communication.” A great inequalities still hundred the potential use of mass media in availability in rural areas mirrors the unequal distribution of other resources. Even where mass media is widely available in serious reservation remains concerning the contribution of the information to a more equitable rural development (Pisal, 2014).

Mass communication is any message sent by a person or a group of people through a medium to a large audience, and mass media is any medium used to transmit mass information. Until recently mass media comprised the eight mass media industries: books, newspapers, magazines, recordings, radio, movies, television, and the Internet, however, digital technology has expanded the scope of the term mass media (Lane, 2007).

OBJECTIVES:

The main objective of the study is to identify the perception of people regarding mass media (electronic and print) and evaluate that which media (electronic and print) is more effective for rural development.

MATERIALS AND METHODS:

Sample Size:

Sample can be defined as accurate envoy of the population, which has all the characteristics of preferred population. Tehsil Talaja and Mahuva were selected from three tehsils of Distt. Bhavnagar randomly. Four union councils, two from each tehsil (UC-21 and UC-22 from Tehsil Talaja and UC-1 and UC-2 from Tehsil Mahuva) were selected through random sampling method, than four villages from each UC were selected randomly. 120 respondents were selected randomly from the study area.

Data collection:

Construction of data collection tool

Social science deals with human nature, Feelings, emotions and minds of human being. To study all these factors it was compulsory that data collection tool was very accurate and reliable. Interview schedule was prepared with open and close ended questions to collect the data from respondents. It was structured to get all the required information from the respondents.

Interviewing the respondents:

Interview was conducted from respondents to collect facts. The investigator himself interviewed each respondent to make sure unbiased response and then rechecked each questionnaire for accuracy and uniformity because it was very difficult to approach the same respondent at any subsequent stage.

Analyzing of data:

Collected data was analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences. Descriptive statistics, including frequencies, percentages, means and standard deviations, were used to summarize different variables. Data was interpreted with the help of a computer software i.e. statistical package for social sciences.

CONCLUSIONS:

Based upon the results of the present study, some conclusions are given as the findings of the present study may not be considered as conclusive as the study was not based on a truly representative sample of rural population of district Bhavnagar. It is, therefore suggested that more studies on higher level may be undertaken to draw generalizations about impact of mass media on the rural development. The Government should take steps to raise literacy rate in the rural area. A micro-credit program should be of immense importance in boosting the adoption of new agricultural technology for poverty reduction in the selected area. Government should arrange health awareness programme at village level. Government should promote the infrastructure and educational facilities in the rural areas. Mass media should be presented the actual picture of our villages and their needs.

REFERENCES:

1. Anwesha Mohanty, 2012, Mass Media and Rural Development, D-7/F – Rail Vihar, Chandrasekharpur, Bhubaneswar-23.

2. Manohar, U.2011. “Different types of mass media”. Buzzle.com. Retrieved November 26.

3. Potter, W.J. 2008. Arguing for a general framework for mass media scholarship.SAGE.p.32. ISBN 978-1-4129-6471-5

4. Pradipta Ku. Biswal, 2012, Mass Media and Rural Development, Pradipta Kumar Biswal, Lecturer, R.S. Mahavidyalaya, Odagaon, Dist- Nayagarh.

Received on 11.07.2024 Modified on 20.08.2024

Int. J. Ad. Social Sciences. 2024; 12(3):128-130.

DOI: 10.52711/2454-2679.2024.00022