Eradicate Quackery, Save Lives
By Rosalini Mohapatra
Bhubaneswar: Prevalence of quackery in our society is as old as the society itself. In olden days, folks used to blindly believe the good-at-words, weirdly dressed man sitting at the corner of the road, claiming to have remedies for all the ailments that ever saw the light of the day. Times have changed. So has the educational levels and scientific awareness. But sadly, quackery still prevails in many forms.
In this context, media is a powerful instrument to identify the social evils nagging the society. Media is defined as a means of communication to reach masses and mould norms, ideals and objectives of people. Print, Electronic and social media are main component to set right the obliquities of society. After the advent of technology, the world has become a global village having information of every corner of the cosmos.
A study titled as “Media as an instrument to Curb Social Evils: A Case Study on Anti-Quack News Coverage in Daspalla Block of Nayagarh District” conducted by Rosalini Mohapatra, a student of Institute of Media Studies, Utkal University reveals interesting facts on the issue.
The survey revealed that more than half (62%) of respondents consider media to be a source of awareness, while rest believed otherwise. Mass media has given each of us a platform to voice our opinions on different social and political issues and share information with one another. While most of the people don’t have access to mainstream media, they used watch TV channels for entertainment purpose. They rarely watch news channels, while they don’t read daily newspapers.
Though the respondents feel that media can play a pivotal role in eradicating the social evils, they knock the doors of quacks in any kind of health crisis at the first hand. Crime thrives in society when grievances of people are not addressed. There is a proliferation of social evils in society that has menace to spoil the generations to come. Media being influencer can affect the opinion of general mass. When we look at the social evils, it appears that the whole society has indulged in deviant behaviour.
Media is considered to be 4th pillar of society and powerful influencer to change and mould the public opinion and set right the obliquities of society. Media disseminate information and construe it for society. Media is also responsible to reorient society through cultural lens to make them understand that how to live, behave and responsible in society. Media can promote and demonize as well any event and person.
