Television and Academic Performance of Nigerian Youths: Implications for National Development

Abstract

This study emphasizes on the devastating impact of Television on the youths’ academic performance, propensity for violence, unruly behavior and the loss of moral and national values. TV is a compact structure that creates an intimate medium, because it brings the world into our homes not as a mere transmission device, but as a medium that brings its audience into direct relationship with particular values and attitudes. TV remains the most time consuming activity, yet the main source of news and information. It is the medium through which politics is conducted and it is humanity’s main form of entertainment. It is a significant way of passing on information to the people, because it is considered to be the greatest communication mechanism ever designed and operated by man after the internet. The study employs quantitative empirical primary and secondary data. The findings of the study drew attention to the fact that TV viewing hours have significant effects on the students’ academic performance. In other words, staying in front of the TV set for too many hours does not allow students to bring out their full potentials in their academics.  It therefore recommends that all the stakeholders to this effect should become more active to ensure that the media become sensitive to the impact of violence on the youths. Parents should monitor what their children watch on TV.