Mass media: A cause of moral degradation among the youth in Holy Rosary Catholic Parish – Gulu Archdiocese

Abstract

This study is intended to contribute to theory and practice by establishing the thesis that mass media has negatively influenced the standard of morality especially among the youth. The youth simply copy what they see, hear and read in the media without any thought of why the people they emulate behave as they do. This study approach is both quantitative and qualitative. It was a case study in Holy Rosary Catholic Parish – Gulu Archdiocese, Gulu District. The sampling techniques employed are purposive, stratified and representative samples. The total number of respondents was 85 people. The data collection was through questionnaire, interview, observation, documentary analysis and collection from library work. The results of this study confirmed that mass media have greatly influenced the morality of the youth towards a negative direction. This is evident by the respondents’ answers: out of 85 respondents, 70 affirmed the great influence of mass media on the morality of the youth negatively. The result is shown to have come about because of permissiveness, lack of proper control measure, loss of the sense of morality among the youth, urbanization, and peer pressure are among the major reasons for the negative effect of mass media on the morality of the youth. Although it is true that mass media undermines morality to a greater extend, the finding of this study also showed that mass media is a neutral phenomenon with an open possibility. It is like a gun someone has in the hands. If it is used for shooting the enemies, then its usefulness is realized, but if it is turned against oneself, then it becomes harmful. Perhaps a total interdict on mass media may not solve the problem: rather, regulations are what have to be put in place.