Mass Media(tion) Through the Ages

Mass media is a significant aspect of our lives; we couldn’t imagine our lives as they are without it. Surrounding us everywhere, from street billboards to films, music to magazines, we are encapsulated and consumed by its powerful force; we base most of our actions and decisions, consciously or subconsciously, on this force. What happens to be much more fascinating, however, is how quickly mass media adapts and evolves through the advent of time and trend, and how it is only speeding up. According to W. H. Auden, a 20th century poet who lived to see the peak growth of mass media, “What the mass media offers is not popular art, but entertainment which is intended to be consumed like food, forgotten, and replaced by a new dish.” Indeed, mass media is ever changing. From having to slap the television to get it to work to now having a world of information at our fingerprints, we truly have come a long way, and are unstoppable. Intergenerational differences between mass media consumption vary starkly, and it is apparent through TV and cinema viewing, listening to the radio, reading books and magazines and tuning in to news.

To dive deep into these stark differences in mass media consumption, my dad and I had a heart-to-heart about his mass media experiences as a child and young adult, and compared them to mine. My dad was born in 1962 in the quaint city of Ajmer, India, into a middle class family. His school days in the 60s and 70s were spent predominantly in Ajmer, after which he moved to the bustling capital New Delhi in the 80s to pursue his higher studies. Having spent most of his childhood fascinated by theatre, films, and music, which is largely responsible for his current love for them, he fondly recalls those simple times of his youth.

Cinema screenings have changed drastically through the years. “In the 70s, I saved up pocket money, 10 paise per day, for up to 10 days, just to purchase a film ticket at the single screen theatre in my town. It was a treat.” He went with his friends, siblings and relatives, and they would queue for tickets, sometimes for hours if it was for a legendary film like Sholay, an immensely popular Amitabh Bachchan-starrer, who was one of the most influential and popular celebrities in India at the time. At the time, English films were a far stretch, and there was mostly a loyal following of local films, especially Bollywood. Today, thanks to multiplexes, we have plenty of films to choose from at one time, in various languages as well as screen sizes. Deciding to watch a movie in the cinema in the spur of the moment is quite feasible, with the convenience of online booking meaning that the seats of our choice, most of the time, are just a couple of clicks away. Additionally, I have the privilege of deciding to opt out of going for the film, in wait for critic and public reviews from social media, or switch to watching something in the comfort of my home instead. As a result, I go to the cinema twice a month, whereas my dad would go almost every week. This suggests the disparity in the decline of cinema as other mediums, such as digital platforms, capture the imagination of audiences and compete for their attention.

Television was introduced to my dad only in his early teens and Doordarshan, the only cable channel at the time, was all the rage. There was no daytime television viewing, and screen time was reserved for quality evenings spent with family. My dad and his family often tuned into a program called Chitrahaar at 6 in the evenings, which broadcasted popular Bollywood song clips of the time. “Those who didn’t have television sets at their houses would land up in ours, and we’d often take turns going to each other’s houses to watch these programs together,” he recalled fondly. Community viewing was rather common, especially with neighbors. “Sundays were special!” he laughed. “We’d get to enjoy a feature film at 6pm, and we definitely didn’t have a choice in the matter. But we’d never miss it; the privilege of a free film meant we had to watch it no matter what!” And if they did miss it, they’d strategically plan to tape record the missed program.

After finishing high school, my dad moved to New Delhi to pursue his higher studies, and finally had a color television all to himself, which he purchased 4-5 years after its release, which meant that television was an integral part of his teenage years as well as adulthood. On the other hand, television was an integral part of my childhood, more than any other time. While cartoons were an alien concept to my dad, who spent most of his childhood playing outside, I spent most of my time indoors, my eyes glued to the TV, watching my favorite cartoons. From Cartoon Network to Nickelodeon and Disney Channel, I couldn’t just name a favorite cartoon from the top of my head when asked! Later, I began to grow out of television and switched to digital platforms for entertainment, such as YouTube and Netflix. Additionally, there was a rarely a time in my life, especially in my teen years, when I called my neighbors over to watch films with me. We all had our own televisions, and peacefully watched our favorite shows in the privacy of our homes. With television channels also came the culture of programs being repeated, where if I missed a cartoon episode the first time, I could just watch it at another time. More recently, with online streaming, I can re-watch a show as many times as I please, at any given time or location of my convenience. Thus, the popularity of television shows has declined over the years, and is inclusive of only a limited audience anymore.

Cinema-goers and television-viewers are increasingly being replaced by online streaming services, such as Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, which allow for diverse forms of content in the privacy of our rooms and devices, and in the comfort of our homes. As compared to my dad having to spend time with his family every single day at 6pm, watching family friendly, generic content, I increasingly watch shows specialized to my interests in the privacy of my room and device, and on the go as well. Television programs, such as reality shows and soap operas quickly escaped the realm of my interest after I became a teenager.

The radio has always been a pleasant, simple medium of entertainment and information. Back in my dad’s day, youngsters would carry radio transistors whilst cycling to school. “We’d use them to tune into sports commentary and music. We’d also purchase cassettes to tune to our favorite international artists. I was a big-time fan of Michael Jackson and George Michael, and we’d wait for months to purchase their records till they’d come to India. Portability was enabled by the good old Walkman.” These days, music from all over the globe can be accessed through the Internet, with YouTube and specialist music streaming services such as Spotify and Apple Music. However, back in the day, the radio was the pride of every house, and every morning, it would blare as the entire family tuned in to the Murphy for updates. According to my dad, the audiences would often form special connections with radio jockeys, claiming that their mornings would be incomplete without hearing their voices. Today, with car radios at our disposal, we can listen to music on the go. Ironically enough, even with its increased ease of access, the radio is now a dying medium, with most choosing to plug in their playlists using Bluetooth, because why be restricted by someone else’s choice?

Magazines and books have come far and wide. “I wasn’t a sucker for books. We had enough reading to do from school! But, boy, did I love reading the monthly Reader’s Digest!” Reader’s Digest, still a running publication, was the ultimate general-interest ‘edutainment’ – crammed with everything from political news and cartoons to crosswords and random facts. Now, with the internet at our disposal, and social media taking up most of our time, the world’s library of jokes and information is at our fingertips. Furthermore, magazines have become more specialist, to accommodate every audience’s interest in depth. For example, my favorite magazine is Vogue, which is solely dedicated to fashion and lifestyle. These kinds of specialist magazines, in my dad’s time, were a luxury and not easy to obtain.

Through the years, technology has revolutionized the path of receiving news. “We had the newspapers delivered to our houses daily, with the latest talk of the town and international affairs in The Times of India, about the only newspaper at the time. We had to wait for our turn to read the papers. Whatever we couldn’t catch up with in the mornings, the news on Doordarshan at 7pm would cover for us,” my dad explained. At the time, a juicy tidbit of news would be shared through word of mouth, which meant it ran a risk of severe modification and distortion. On the other hand, with the advent of social media, the volume of news is overwhelming, but can be shared in its original form. For example, in April 2019, the National Space Agency captured the first ever picture of a black hole. Instantly, this picture was shared millions of times across various social networking platforms, in the form of texts, tweets and stories, with plenty of hype. Along with it came the jokes and memes, with the faint circle of fire compared to a stove, bagel and medu vada (an Indian fritter in the shape of a doughnut, resembling the picture of the black hole), all in a matter of hours. However, after about three days on Instagram, I could no longer see these.

News today, although ever dynamic, is becoming more rapidly irrelevant and forgotten than ever before. As we jump from one hashtag to the next, thousands of media outlets fight for our attention each day, and we are spoiled for choice. My dad said, “Hell, had the picture of the black hole been taken at a time with the 70s mass media, it would’ve been talked about for weeks! With social media, this kind of feedback and reachability on such a large scale is only capable of your generation. All hype, no longevity.” Constant influx of news also means we are lulled into passivity and no longer advocate passionately about the same things that we once used to, because there is always new information flooding in to distract us every now and then.

To conclude, mass media has undergone massive change through the generations, and with it, has changed the proportion time we spend on it, and its effects on us. Having interviewed my dad, he claimed that cinema played a huge role in his social life, and that television shows were considered a rare, ultimate form of entertainment back in the day, and called for community viewing. Radio shows had avid listeners, and also encouraged communities to gather, delivering news, commentary, and playing music, with other media such as cassettes also enabling the distribution of music. News was primarily delivered through newspapers, but now it is available through not only news outlets, but social media as well. Media is ever-changing, and comes with its own fresh set of benefits and drawbacks. At the end of the day, we can only learn to love what we, as part of a generation, are accustomed to.