A Study on the Role of the Media and Its Effect on the Identity of Muslims (Part Four)
The Role of Media in Changing Lifestyle
Lifestyle is often influenced by visual communication, and among mass media, television and smartphones are used more than other forms. Television, cinema, the internet, satellite media, and mobile phones are the most important visual media that significantly impact people’s lifestyles. The media plays a substantial role in shaping individuals’ thought processes, which serve as the foundation for their lifestyles. On the other hand, the media, especially visual media, continuously teaches both positive and negative ways of living—methods that encompass interaction, treatment, values, and behavioral patterns.
Undoubtedly, the media is pivotal in promoting an Islamic lifestyle. Therefore, we cannot overlook the threats and opportunities presented by the media in this regard. This note focuses on the media’s effects and highlights both its advantages and disadvantages.
The media is one of the most influential factors in changing lifestyles. It can be effective by conducting research projects related to lifestyle, which can then be disseminated through mass communication channels to foster cultural development among families, especially youths. The objective is to convey content that aligns with their values to society.
Definition of Lifestyle
The term “lifestyle” denotes a style, way, method, and means of expressing one’s identity. “Life” is defined as the state of being alive, living, having life experiences, life span, financial status, and wealth. According to sociologist Anthony Giddens, the media plays a crucial role in promoting various lifestyles. One essential area where lifestyle studies have significantly impacted culture is in developing media selection strategies and understanding the differences among media audiences.
In the expansive world of social media, young people endure more exposure to ideological attacks than any other demographic. Various media outlets compete with each other to influence their identity and intellectual preferences. Today, the media plays a critical role in defining individuals’ lifestyles and overall happiness, clearly evident in the strategic decisions of political regimes and their influence.
The media’s role in determining lifestyle can be summarized as follows: It facilitates identification processes, allowing people to understand themselves and others, guiding them in discerning desirable and undesirable behaviors. In this context, the media acts as a role model or educator, gradually transforming individuals’ behaviors and attitudes by providing examples to follow.
The Role of Media in the Destruction of Individual and Social Values and Traditions
The media’s role in transforming individual and social values within societies can be traced back to dominant paradigms in communication and development during the 1960s and 1970s. These paradigms emphasize the media as a catalyst for change, restructuring the values of traditional societies and facilitating their transition into modernity.
According to this theory, the media helps disseminate a value system that encourages innovation, mobility, success, and consumption. Daniel Lerner, an American sociologist and proponent of this approach, highlighted the media’s role in altering traditional values in societies by replacing them with modern values. In his book, Passing the Traditional Society: Modernization in the Middle East, Lerner argues that media can foster the decline of traditionalism, which he views as an impediment to modernization. This shift occurs through increased expectations and aspirations, broadening perspectives, stimulating imagination, and encouraging improved living conditions for individuals and their families.
The media contributes to national integration through communication with national and international markets, creating incentives for demand for modern goods and services, alleviating resource acquisition crises, and disseminating new practices and values in areas such as nutrition, family planning, health, and both rural and urban agricultural and industrial production. Achieving these goals necessitates psychological mobility at both individual and societal levels, and the media serves as the most suitable and effective tool for changing attitudes, values, and behaviors. In essence, it facilitates individual and social mobility.
Family Education Methods Through Media
There are various methods for educating families, with the most vital being education through media, particularly radio and television.
Given the influential nature of the media, numerous counter-cultural attacks inevitably infiltrate homes through these channels. In this regard, Islamic media and other cultural and religious institutions should proactively develop and implement valuable and targeted programs on a continuous basis. These programs should possess such appeal and engagement that audiences anticipate their release.
The quality of content and its presentation must be high and compelling enough to dissuade the audience from watching satellite programs, effectively drawing them to these educational programs.
