Role of media in democracy

A democracy is a system of government in which all the people of a country can vote to elect their representatives. Media came into existence around the 1780s with the introduction of newspapers, and since then it has matured by leaps and bounds. It has played a very important role in shaping human minds. Every man needs food, clothing, healthcare and shelter for his physical survival. Similarly communication is regarded as an indispensable factor for the social welfare of people. In this 21^st century every individual is keen to be updated with the latest developments in all walks of life. It is here where the mass media comes into the picture which aims to reach out to a very large audience. It carries out its functions through advertising, marketing, propaganda, public relations and political communication. Mass media is now considered as an effective tool for advocating business and social concerns. But what role does media and information play in a democratic society need to be examined as there is still a dispute regarding the significance and magnitude of mass media in Indian society.

The media plays a very important role as a source of information, education and entertainment. It accommodates the world into a single village which is saturated of media-information. Media is a mirror of the society. Its duty is to inform, educate and entertain the people but nowadays we see that media is not doing its duty properly. Instead of giving important information and educative programme, it is giving emphasis to sensationalize the public. They are only trying to attract people to increase their TRP ratings. Technological innovations have expanded the scope and coverage of media. With television entering the drawing rooms of Indian households in 1990s, a new segment of electronic media emerged. The World Wide Web and web 2.0 technologies have enabled web journalism through Blogs, Facebook, Twitter and other social media sites. All these have led to creation of a richly diverse media industry in India.

Media as the fourth pillar of democracy

Media is considered the fourth pillar of democracy along with Judiciary, Executive, and Legislature. Media plays an important role in informing the public and creating public opinion on important issues. It serves as a link between the government and public. Indian democracy would be poorer without an active media. Media provides a platform for the voiceless many to put forth their grievances. Media serves as an important tool to ensure accountability of government to the public between elections. It informs public of the government schemes and its beneficiaries. At some time it also highlights the mistakes committed by government. Hence it ensures government’s accountability.The media should make the people aware of the consequences of the various actions of the governments. It is the media which plays a major role in making a politician hero or Zero. So utmost neutrality is required on the part of media to observe and it must give publicity only to those politicians who are committed to the welfare of the poor and underprivileged and who really deserve it. It is the duty of the media to make sure that it is not partial towards any particular political party or an individual and gives free and fair opinion to the people without having any bias towards anyone. It should never hesitate is unmasking before public the real faces of corrupt politicians and corrupt people without any fear and in disclosing corrupt practices prevalent in Government machinery but at the same time it should also bring before the pubic the good work done by the Government.

If media is honest and committed in its job, democracy is bound to function more efficiently and the loopholes present in any democratic system can certainly be plugged to the fullest satisfaction of the people. On the contrary, if media is biased, corrupt and favors only a particular party or few individuals, it can prove to be very dangerous for the smooth functioning of democracy. No one can become perfect and one can only strive to become so. The same holds true for our media also. Certainly there is still a lot of scope for improvement by which the media can rise upon the aspirations of the people for which it is primarily meant.

Role of Education in life

"A man without education is like a building with foundation"...!!

Education is a basic human right and a significant factor in the development of children, communities, and countries. Education has a positive effect on human life. All people need to study. Only with the advent of education can people gain knowledge and enlarge their view over the world. For example, learning by watching TV or reading books gives people a huge amount of information about anything they are interested in such as mathematics, current news, exchange rates, other countries' cultures and so on. Apparently, people may become more useful and civilized if better educated.

Swami Vivekananda

Swami Vivekananda said,

“Education is the manifestation of perfection already in man. Strength must come to the nation through education. A nation is advanced in proportion as education and intelligence spread among the masses.”

In the present the scenario the comment is very irrelevant as we are going through a world of complexity where education does not mean more than time table where you get up early in the morning and go to place taking your bag contain some curriculum-based books. Your intention is to learn something to showcase that in the exam paper.  

But in reality education does mean more than that. In education we always need to search for something new and innovative that can prosper society and the person as well. We need such education that can help to make us perfect man and curtail down our wildness, animosity and inhuman quality within us. 

Education is quite important for development of one’s personal life and also to build up a good and healthy society. These two are the basic needs of one’s life (i.e. food and shelter), food is there for a good health and shelter is for our body, just like that education is necessary for our mind.

Education makes a man to think in right direction. It says to one how to think on and take decisions. That’s why education is important. As education helps a one in individual development, it eventually converts it into social development also. So thus it is a key for creating and spreading knowledge for individuals and nations. And thus it plays a key role in development of dynamic and globally competitive economies.

Thus education plays a vital role in development of our lives as well as our societies. We just have to pay attention toward it, if we want to create a well cultured society.

significance of Education in our life:-

(1) Education Empowers Women and Girls:-

(i). Particularly for women and girls, the economic and personal empowerment that education provides allows them to make healthier choices for themselves and their families.

(ii). Improvement of the health of women and their children, delay of marriage, reduction of female genital cutting, and increase in self-confidence and decision-making power.

(2) Makes better citizens:-

Education opens our mind and expand our horizons. It teaches us how to live in a society. An educated person always takes a right decision by analyzing the situations.

(3) Spreads Awareness:-

Education spreads awareness, informing us about our rights and the services that we can access. An educated is always aware about the news and latest happenings in the world.

(4) Helps in making decisions:-

Decision making is an integral part of our life. We have to take decisions throughout our lives and sometimes, decision making can be a very tough and challenging process. Education teaches us to differentiate between right and wrong and thus helps in making a right decision.

(5) Increases Confidence:-

An educated person is a confident person. Education brings up a positive outlook and allows us to believe in ourselves.