TV becoming tool for shaping social and political identities: Punjabi University study

Patiala, March 31

A recent study by Punjabi University on the effects of television in the rural Punjab has revealed that television, once a novelty, has played its role in shaping people’s habits, choice of clothing, sleeping time and even their communication dynamics.

The study, conducted over a period of seven year on six villages, consists of 60 households each in Majha, Malwa and Doaba. The researcher Mani Inderpal Singh is teaching as an assistant professor at University College Mirapur, under the supervision of Deepak Kumar from Department of Sociology and Social Anthropology.

During the study, it was also observed how some local television channels backed by political outfit were projecting a particular political party, while political groups and parties struggle for space. He added that two types of villages were taken in the research. “One, where television has the most penetration and another village with less television penetration,” he said.

He said that political parties have realised the potential of television and have been trying to exploit the medium of information and entertainment.

Deepak Kumar said that earlier studies on this topic were mostly based on data from urban areas but this latest research presents the impact of television on daily rural life in the state.

Likewise, television is also becoming a tool for shaping social and political identities in rural areas. Researcher Singh said that this study also draws conclusions about the impact of television on collective mobility in rural society.

The study shows that despite the new ways of consuming entertainment, television is still the favourite source of rural Punjab.