In the words of Marshall McLuhan, “All media exist to invest our lives with artificial perceptions and arbitrary values.”
Today, this quotation holds true because increasing freedom of expression through free electronic media has not only changed the thinking of the Pakistani population by taking them further away from their roots. While electronic media is an important force in mobilising the masses and exposing the wrongdoings of the democratically elected leaders, people often forget the fact that private entertainment channels are slowly killing off Pakistani culture.
There was a time when the whole family could sit together and watch television programmes but today, not only are the movies and soap operas vulgar, but the commercials are also not worthy of being seen by a family. Soap operas revolve around love stories which only encourage the younger generations to indulge in futile activities. The use of foul language has become common and this not only corrupts the minds of impressionable children but also leads to increasingly violent behaviour.
SARAH MOIN
Lahore
