“Whoever controls the media,

controls the mind”

-Jim Morrison
Mass Media, noun:
A diversified collection of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass
communication.

Whether it's listening to the radio during a long car journey or carrying on the age-
old tradition of reading the morning papers, mass media has occupied an
irreplaceable role in society. Its influence on the human mind at the subconscious
level affects everyday life.
Mass media can sway the opinions of people, to the extent that it even influences
political decisions. It truly is an intrinsic part of our lives as a day is not considered
complete if we haven’t used the internet or watched the news.
Our group’s objective is to highlight changes within mass media over three
generations using information we will procure by interviewing people from our
parents’ and our grandparents’ generation.

GRANDPARENTS
Our Grandparents (or grandparent-like figures) occupy a special place in our
minds as the experienced, wise-old bearers of knowledge. They have seen the world
change over the years. Most of them lived in joint families in India. Their mothers
were housewives and their fathers mostly businessmen. We asked them about a
historical event that occurred when they were 14 that made an impression on them.
While we received different answers, all of them were related to India: from the
freedom struggle to the Chinese aggression. These events evoked a sense of
patriotism and that is why they were impressed. We interviewed our grandparents
about mass media and here is what we found out:
At that time, no one had access to a television, the internet or a computer (as
they had not been invented yet). These were substituted with books and newspapers.
The main mass medium was the radio. Our grandparents listened to a range of
channels from “ Binaca Geetmala”, where they could hear their favourite Hindi
songs, to “Vividh Bharati”, which presented a mix of skits and interactive
programmes.
 Reading wasn’t popular, as many children at that
time prefered playing outside. Radios were
expensive (a family was considered well-off if
they owned one), but magazines and newspapers
were cheap and therefore, purchased and read by
many. Well stocked libraries did exist, but there
Ishaan’s grand-aunt, Hemangini Ranade
were few. enjoyed reading “The Illustrated Weekly of
India”, a newsmagazine that was printed in English.

Not much time was spent was spent listening to the

radio, but youngsters were encouraged to read
magazines and remain aware of what was happening
in the world. Reading the newspaper was a part of an
adult’s daily routine. People depended on the radio
and magazines for entertainment and news.

Some enjoyed reading books (Mannat’s grandmother, Dr. Usha Rani liked the
Panchatantra stories and would converse with her siblings about them.)
 Families did not discuss mass media and this is
affirmed by Suhani’s grandfather, Jayraj Kapadia, who
says “No, the discussions were mainly political.” but
our grandparents enjoyed reading magazines in their
youth.
Mass media was the only way that people remained
informed of what was happening, especially during
important, historical events. The content was positive
and listening to the radio, entertaining. However, there
were some negative aspects. Aalia’s grandfather, Rishi
Angirish says “The radio distracted us from studying and news was slow to arrive.”
Besides that, there were no other complaints, due to the absence of vulgar material.
When asked about how the presence of mass media has changed, they felt that the
role of the internet has become more prominent and everything is available at the
click of a button. It was considered a privilege to have access to a radio at that time,
while today the internet offers a wide range of entertainment and now, there is no
concept of “going out to play”. Keshav’s grandmother, Bina Gupta adds to this point
by telling us, “My dependency on newspapers has steadily decreased with the advent
of the internet.” They believe that these changes have both positive and negative
aspects. While one can access anything through the internet, the content can be
objectionable and inappropriate. Fake news spreads rapidly and it deadens the brain
with meaningless entertainment. Children are always on their phones or computers
instead of interacting. But, there is a positive side to it. The television and computers
are avenues of information and accessing mass media is easier than ever. We are
more aware now, as news is more widespread.

PARENTS
Our parents (or parent-like figures) were born into a new generation, where times
were changing and it is up to them to guide us and prepare us to take on life and it’s
challenges. They too have advice to offer, much of which is useful. By this time, their
(our parents) families were nuclear (with a few exceptions), but their mothers were
housewives. Their fathers’ jobs ranged from agricultural economists to chartered
accountants. Most of them lived in Mumbai (except for Ishaan’s masi, who lived in
Kingston, Jamaica). When asked about a historical event that commenced when they
were 14 and why they were impressed by it, they gave us varied answers-
Ishaan’s masi, Rajni Bakshi: The Meeting of the Commonwealth Heads of
Government in Jamaica. She was impressed as this was a step towards acquiring
social and economic justice for colonies that required them.
Mannat’s dad, Mohit Mehra: When India won the cricket world cup in 1983. He was
impressed as it was the first time India had won anything of note in sports and
made him feel proud.
Aalia’s mom, Tina Angirish: The splitting of the USSR. She was impressed as the
country had paved its way to democracy after years of stagnation under Communist
rule.

We interviewed our parents about mass media and here is what we found out:
All types of mass media had become available by then (books, television, magazines,
the radio, etc). The internet was not available, however, and was substituted with
books and magazines. Newspapers were the most popular mass medium and
reading was now popular. Owning a television automatically stated that the family
that possessed it belonged to the upper class. Radios, newspapers and books were
cheap and well-equipped libraries were only found in schools (Aalia’s mother, Tina
Angirish frequently visited the local library to read Agatha Christie and P.G.
Wodehouse novels). Our parents enjoyed listening to the radio and were avid
readers, spending at least 2 hours a day and 12 hours a week reading. They enjoyed
watching programmes like “The world this week” and “Karamchand” and read a
range of books, from “The Hardy Boys” to the Enid Blyton novels. “Time Magazine”
and “Reader’s Digest” were the favourite magazines at this time.
 At that time, mass media had a
positive impact on the youth-
people were informed of events
taking place in the world
through useful mediums like
the newspaper and radio.
Watching television and
listening to the radio provided a
person with wholesome
entertainment. However,
Mannat’s father, Mohit Mehra
feels that there was a negative side to mass media as well-” The media was
controlled by the government and you couldn’t really comment on anything.” When
asked about how the presence of mass media has changed since their teenage years,
they felt that people don’t read magazines and newspapers as much as they use to
and everyone depends on their electronic devices for information and news. Suhani’s
father, Himanshu Bhatia said, “ Due to the improvements in mass media everyone
just sits in front of the television and the kids are usually on their phones or playing
video games.” Everything revolves around the internet and the role of the computer
has drastically changed. At that time, adults would usually read books and
newspapers and the kids would be playing outside. Today, people spend inordinate
amounts of time watching worthless content on youtube and the internet has
developed various ways to draw children in.
The last question was “What are the positive and negative aspects of these
changes?” Our parents agreed that mass media is now more accessible, subjects can
be explored in greater detail and the world is more aware of global events.
However, fake news and rumors can spread rapidly and the information can be
unreliable. Ishaan’s masi, Rajni Bakshi stated “The rise of mass media in its present
form has unleashed a flood of hate, anger and abuse (which was absent during my
childhood) on a global scale.” There is less face-to-face interaction and the quality of
this interaction is being affected.

COMPARISONS AND CONCLUSIONS

Grandparents:similarities and differences
Similarities
Reading was not popular
Outdoor activity was preferred
Newspapers were widely read
Differences
Only a few were interested in english
media
Views on the radio differed
Not a lot of people visited the libraries

Parents: similarities and differences

Similarities Differences
Reading was encouraged Only a few were aware of international
 news
Television was popular Some feel the impact of mass media
was negative
Families were generally nuclear Time spent outside differed

Grandparents and parents: similarities and differences

Similarities Differences
1. The culture of playing outside had not 1. The radio was less prominent
changed
2. Newspapers were still popular 2. Television was brought to the
forefront
3. They feel that mass media has a 3. Reading was popular
negative impact on us

It is clear that communication wasn’t as advanced as it is now, including

technology (only radios existed, televisions were primitive and the internet,
computers and mobile phones hadn’t been invented) Families were also
different back then. Our grandparents did not share an open relationship
with their parents (they viewed them as people that they would respect and
were formal towards them) whereas in the next generation, parents and
children interacted with each other, discussing various topics and opinions.
Physical activity was considered more important than reading in our
grandparents’ generation, but the importance of playing outside steadily
increased. Nowadays, us youngsters are glued to our phones or the internet.
We can conclude that the importance and impact of mass media has
significantly increased today. We are more aware of what is going on in the
world which has become a smaller place as we are connected by various
platforms, from instagram to facebook to what
Mass media occupies a special place in our lives and
has presented itself in the modern age through social
media. These are just 3 of the platforms that connect
millions across the world. However, nothing comes
without a price and media is subject to much
controversy, especially because of its content. A flood
of hate, anger and abuse has been released on the
largely unregulated forums of social media and this
can affect a person at a subconscious level. One must
explore it with caution. There is a credible argument
against
Has massthe use of thesechanged
media platforms. over the

course of three generations?

Undoubtedly so. But is it positive and for
the better? The question remains open and will be until the floodgates of
hate can be closed and platforms like the internet become safe. There is
hope, as mass media has several positive impacts on people. That being
said, we hope you enjoyed reading this article.
Written by:
Ishaan Rajabali
Mannat Mehra
Keshav Gupta
Suhani Bhatia
Aalia Angirish
Tia Sharma
We would like to thank our interviewees-
GRANDPARENTS: PARENTS:
Hemangini Ranade Rajni Bakshi
Usha Jauhar Mohit Mehra
Rishi Angirish Tina Angirish
Jayraj Kapadia Himanshu Bhatia
Bina Gupta