Albert Einstein once said:

I fear the day technology will surpass our human interaction. The world will have a
generation of idiots.
I am afraid, the day Einstein warned us about has come.
A very hearty good morning to all of you. I cannot see eye to eye with my honorable
opponents. Their views, seem most appalling. Give me the liberty to elaborate some
points in favour of the motion.
One of the notable changes in our social environment in the 20 th and 21st centuries has
been the saturation of our culture and daily lives by the mass media. In this new
environment radio, television, movies, video games, cell phones, and computer
networks have assumed central roles in our childrens daily lives. These developments
are the basis of a new, innovative e-culture sector. For better or worse the mass media
are having an enormous impact on our childrens values, beliefs, and behaviors.
Unfortunately,there is less to rejoice than complain about.
As today we are focusing on the lives of youth, let us take into account as to how is the
life of an average Indian youth and at the same time contrast it with that of our parents
or grandparents . Earlier people woke up early, took blessings of their parents and
family members, took a bath and offered prayers and read religious scriptures. All this
instilled positivity and good values in them. Today, we wake up late in the morning,
because of late night texting, we directly head to our mobile phones to check
messages,updating gm as status has become more important than actually wishing
our parents and family members.
Then we rush out to reach college in a hurry. They drive fast and you cannot miss the
ear phones plugged into the ears. You might even see some students talking or
messaging while driving. A latest study has found that the death toll from crashes
caused by drivers talking on cell-phones appears to have risen markedly in recent
years. They are not only risking their lives but also the lives of some innocent person.
There is no road sense and sense of responsibility. There is no value of a persons life
compared to tweets and status updates.
Then those who make it safely to college, face the problem of concentrating in the
class. Some are busy texting , watching videos etc at the back benches. There is no
respect for the teacher who is sparing her valuable time to help us learn. Did our
grandparents have the audacity or the option to show such disrespect? No sir.
Then you ask them, what do they wish to do in life. And more often than not, you will get
the answer I want to be rich and famous. Then you ask; how? And there is no proper
answer.

Media overemphasizes the money and glamour aspects of film stars, models and
successful men and women.
The values it emphasises are materialistic; and the people who embody them are
largely superficial and artificial. As a result, the cultural values that the media supports
and which are taking root in society in modern times are superficial and oriented
towards money and glamour.
The negative things the celebrities do are often talked about. The controversies are
often highlighted by the media. It is often seen that young girls and boys imitate their
role models blindly.
They relate to television shows and films to such an extent that they get bored of living a
normal and simple life. They crave for fame and riches; they yearn for living the lives of
their favorite TV characters. This may lead to dissatisfaction and frustration. As real life
is the contrast of the life portrayed on TV, such TV addicts become hungry for power,
money and status.
they take shortcuts to success and want quick money but often end up as
troublemakers in the society, devoid of ethics and values. These are the main causes of
rise of organized crimes like human trafficking, sex scandles, fake currency etc.
Now, when we reach home, the time which was supposed to be invested in talking to
the elders of the family, listening to stories or playing sports with our friends or reading
good books is consumed by television or video games.
Many television programs and electronic games feature situations of violence and
destruction. Research studies have shown that children exposed to violent images are
initially frightened and traumatized. With repeated exposure, they can become
desensitized to the real effects of violence. Children exposed in this way may act
aggressively, with no sense of consequences. They are not even hesitant to kill others.
This has given fuel to terrorist groups and made terrorism a global phenomena.
Concepts like cyber crime, pornography are not the legacy of our ancestors, they are
completely the outcome of this rising e-culture.
My honorable opponents may argue that the true test of morality lies in family values. If
family values are strong then nothing can affect the character of a person. But I would
like to ask; is todays youth getting enough family time?
Technology has brought the world closer but it is drifting families apart. The evening
time which was supposed to be spent with family talking to each other, sharing

thoughts, ideas and experiences is spent glued to the television. Most parents are
working today; they seek television and computers as an escape from their childs
queries and doubts.
As a result, children look up to the television and internet for their answers.
The media that is easily accessible to even small children exposes them to things they
need not know and will not understand. Innocence is being lost at an early age thanks
to the film music and dance shows in which children are encouraged to participate and
imitate the attitudes and actions of adults.
The negative psychological effects of media are seen in terms of media changing the
peoples outlook on life. Media have changed the cultural and moral values of society.

Movies and television pro- grams glamorize smoking and drinking.

Be it the advertisements touting products that embody cultural, racial and communal
prejudices or the television shows and films, which portray violence, sexually explicit
content and abusive language, they have a large presence in our electronic media
today, especially television.
There are music videos and rock bands that give out the message that alcohol, drugs
are an inevitable, and enjoyable, part of life.
Behavioral scientists have long supposed that television crime dramas affect societal
beliefs and attitudes.
The basic motive of such TV shows is to bring awareness amongst the viewers about
the crime that can be happening around them and also, how they should be
apprehensive about their safety. But humans are fascinated by the darker side of these
serials, especially the teenagers.
It is not only having an impact on the youth and teenagers, but also parents. There is a
growing trust deficit in our society. The values of faith and mutual trust are being
questioned. People are eyeing even their family members with suspicion.

Now comes the time to do homework. Instead of thorough reading of various books to
get information about a subject, students simply copy off text from the internet. This is

encouraging plagiarism. Students pass somebody elses work as their own. Is it not
moral degradation? And who is responsible for this? The rising e-culture.

The biggest irony of our century is that mobiles and internet was invented to save our
time. importance of time is a basic value that is inculcated in students right from their
childhood. But e-culture has led to students wasting their precious time watching or
leaning inappropriate and irrelevant things. People say facebook and watsapp are free.
But are they really? At this age, time is a students most valuable asset and these social
networking sites are feeding on that.
e- culture is the only reason for the rise of pornography. It has led to the decline of
position of women in the society. There is no sense of responsibility in depicting
women in the big screen.
This matters because cinema and popular culture is at the heart of the Indian psyche. In
today's popular culture, women have been portrayed as mere commodities on
numerous occasions. There is excessive noise and negativity and sadly the stories
always depict women as victims or villains who create trouble. This impression has a
lasting impact of the mindset of the viewer, especially youngsters. In this context, it is
not surprising that youngsters are swayed mentally by the lustful and violent content on
display. popular television culture has a reach across the rural urban divide, the impact
is stark on people who are just entering into adolescence. And somewhere down the
line, this is a major factor for the increasing number of crimes against women.
We have read in history that in ancient india, the society was high on morals. There
were not even incidents like theft. We hear our grandparents complain that times have
changed. Their days were full of peace and everyone had a great sense of
responsibility. We have moved from satyug to kalyug . but have you ever wondered
what has really changed? Humans have not changed. We still have 2 eyes, 2 ears, 2
hands. Nature hasnt changed. The sun still rises in the east. Then what has changed?
Technology. There is a direct relationship between rise in crimes and moral
degradation and up gradation of technology.
We all know the story of bhasmasur. The demon who was granted the power to burn up
and immediately turn into ashes anyone whose head he touched with his hand. The
asura was tricked by the enchantress Mohini, to turn himself into ashes.
Similarly, technology was given to man as a power to prosper but without self-control
and self-poise it has lead us to our own destruction.