Impact of mass media on students’ character: Case study of secondary schools in Embakasi district, Nairobi

Abstract

This research is intended to establish whether mass media has any influence on the character of the young people and more specifically the students. Considering the changes in character and behaviour that have taken place in the young people of the current generation the need to investigate is paramount. The first objective is to investigate the negative impact of mass media on the students’ character. The second and third objective is to find out whether mass media has a positive impact on the students’ character and determining whether some have more impact than others. The final objective is to determine solutions to negative impacts of mass media. The theoretical framework highlights the theories that describe the relationships between mass media and the students’ character, how character is highly influenced by what we daily interact with. The study has involved literature review section that highlights findings from other people who have observed related studies both locally and other parts of the world. The study design has enabled the research to assess the relationship that exists between the variables presented. The target population was High school students of ages between fourteen and twenty two and the survey design was employed as the sampling method. This method was suitable because of the utilization of survey questionnaires. The last chapter summarizes the whole research process. This chapter provides discussion, conclusion and recommendations. Research findings indicated that advertisements as part and parcel of media have a higher impact on the students than any other factor. However, mobile phones, TV shows, music and movies have played a role. This does not conclusively suggest that students’ character is only impacted by these factors but that there is room for more research to be carried out. It is the researcher’s recommendation that more research should be carried out in such areas as the information provided through mobile phones. Other areas include impact of music and movies on the students’ character.