With students spending hours in front of the computer screen, tuned to the tube or plugged into their headphones, parents and teachers can't help but wonder what content they are being exposed to.
The influence of the media on students has been a hot and controversial topic, particularly since the birth of the internet. Notes goes into the lives of students and finds out exactly what it is they're watching, listening or surfing.
Media as recreation
Perhaps what most provokes the curiosity of parents and teachers alike is how students spend their free time. We surveyed 10 students on their daily media consumption habits — both in terms of recreational and informational media and discovered several patterns.
Most students said they spend their free time either online or in front of the TV. On average, students spend three to four hours a day in front of the screen – television and internet usage combined. But what is it that they're watching? Most likely it's American TV series or movies.
In our survey, eight out of 10 students said they prefer tuning into English programmes rather than those of their own culture. Huda Khamil, business student at Al Ain Women's College (AAWC), says she enjoys watching TV shows such as Lost, Friends, Prison Break and "generally all the programming on MBC 4".
Meanwhile Ahmad Al Hashemi, marketing student at Abu Dhabi Men's College (ADMC), says his favourite shows include How I Met Your Mother, Heroes and House MD.
His favourite movies include Man On Fire because "it is touching and very dramatic" and Sweeney Todd because "it shows how revenge and hatred can blind a person and tells you that you have to forgive no matter how badly you were hurt".
Western vs Eastern media
But why is it that today's youth prefer Western media to that from their own culture? Most students attribute this preference to the complexity of the plot lines calling them "unusual and fresh".
"Western media is more original. Just a few examples of movies are Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings – you can never find movies like this in Arab media," said Khadija Bin Isaik, engineering student and student ambassador at AAWC.
Huda added: "Arab media is very limited and repetitive – it's always the same dramatic storylines portrayed in different ways."
Heba Gazi, a business administration student at the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD), is from Pakistan and says she enjoys watching American TV sitcoms such as Friends and That 70's Show because it gives her a break from reality. "I'm at university and studying all day, these shows let me relax and laugh a little." When asked why she doesn't tune into Pakistani programmes, Heba answered that "they're very corny and lame".
The influence
So what kind of overall influence do Western media have on the youth? Students say that depending on where you come from and what defines your values, the degree of influence varies.
However, most claim that it isn't a particularly positive one as the values in the East differ greatly from those in the West. Dating, dressing provocatively and suggestive dialogue are just a few examples of behaviour that would be considered taboo in this part of the world, but are often portrayed in Western media.
"The younger generation is affected because they try to imitate the behaviour they see on TV," Huda said. "They see the degree of freedom and believe it's the same here, when in fact it is not."
Khadija provided a simple example of how Western media affects Arab society in the UAE. "In our culture girls are required to cover themselves," she said. "However many girls act rebelliously without realising that in our society this behaviour has a social consequence."
It's not all negative
However, students contend that not all media influence is negative. They argue that in many cases the media can play an inspiring role in the lives of young people and is an important factor for social progress.
"The media inspires you to do things you never thought about doing before. For example, if you see fast cars you might be inspired to build cars," said Salman Al Suwaidi, electronical engineering student at ADMC. "It shows you the possibilities."
"Media influences the way you think, helps you learn about other people and cultures and brings the world to your home," Al Hashemi added.
A solution
Students said that more financial investments need to be made in the Eastern entertainment industry in order to instigate change.
"The problem is that Arab media don't spend as much money and time on their programming and they are also not as attentive," said Huda. "You rarely see Arab officials at important media conferences. More action needs to be taken by the Arabic media industry ."
Another idea that students propose to make programming more appealing is to simply "ask and listen".
"The Arab industry should listen to what the youth are saying, take their ideas and implement it in their programming," she said.
The social networking phenomenon
As for what students are doing when they're clicking away on the net, the answer is likely to be social networking. Students say they are drawn to these sites as they allow them both a channel of expression and communication.
Websites such as Facebook and YouTube allow users to post information and meet others who share similar interests. Some students said they prefer media that treats them as active rather than passive users.
"I can find what intrigues me and I love being in control," said Al Hashemi. D'arcy Drury, applied communications faculty at ADMC, noted the growing popularity of interactive media.
"I believe that one of the important trends we are witnessing in the media is the rise of amateur do-it-yourself media. Currently, the most successful websites are those that are User Generated Content (UGC) sites," he said.
"It will be very interesting to see if UGC is simply a trend that people will grow weary of, or if it represents a new more democratic and interactive age of media."
Nevertheless, as with everything, such media has both advantages and disadvantages. Comparing modern media, such as social networking websites, to a "double edged sword," Dr Alun Epps, marketing professor at the University of Wollongong in Dubai, explains how the benefits of this new media could also be drawbacks.
"Social networking sites are good because they increase connectivity, but they take away the art of face-to-face communication," he said. "People now have more virtual friends, who could either be miles away or just next-door, than friends in the real world."
Some universities are teaching students to assess the credibility of websites before they use it for research purposes. Manal Ismail reports
Information literacy
With the rapid development of technology and media comes the ease of obtaining information. So the question arises, are students moving away from traditional media and towards more modern forms?
The answer is for the most part, yes. All the 10 students Notes surveyed said they prefer the internet when researching information to any other source. The reason? Convenience.
When asked what source she turns to when given an assignment, Heba Gazi, a business administration student at the University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD), said, "Definitely the internet. You can access so much more information online."
"It also saves a lot of time. The same passage you'd find with one click online would save you the time of sifting through 1,000 books," she said.
"What has developed is what was called the 'MTV' generation in the 1980s where people had an attention span of five minutes," said Dr Alun Epps, marketing professor at UOWD. "Students expect instant gratification to the point that it's difficult for them to wait more than 30 seconds for a site to load."
Finding the right information
However, as with all things that come with ease, there is a catch.
"Because of the availability and rapid spread of information, issues like plagiarism and information validity arise," said Epps.
"The problem with such easy access to so much information is that it gets very difficult to sift through this information and identify what's good from what's bad. It reaches a point where you don't know where and how this information was developed."
So are students able to differentiate between valid and invalid information? And if so, how? Huda Khamil, business student at Al Ain Women's College (AAWC) explained, that while the internet is the first source she turns to for information, she does read newspapers – the electronic version online.
"These [electronic newspapers] are valid and usually a publication date is on the page so you can see how recent the information is," she said.
"I like using the internet because it's fast and easy to find information, but I'm never sure as to what I can trust," said Ahmad Al Hashemi, marketing student at Abu Dhabi Men's College (ADMC).
"I also use specialised reference books because they give me more information than any internet site could, but unfortunately, they are hard to find but I find them more trustworthy."
The wrath of Wikipedia
Often what students consider viable sources are viewed in quite a different light by their professors. Many students admitted to using Wikipedia as a source of information for their assignments.
"Wikipedia is a good and believable site," Huda said. "I use it for many of my projects and papers."
However professors assert that such sites are not often credible sources of information and advise students to use other sites — ones with more academic rigour.
"Sites like Wikipedia aren't appropriate sources to cite for reports and projects since anyone can edit the information on those sites," said Neil Culpan, education faculty at AAWC. "They might be good as a starting point for background information, but that's all."
Universities take action
To help students differentiate between accurate and inaccurate information, universities are training students on what key elements to look for when determining the validity of a source, or more particularly, a website.
"UOWD trains its students on information literacy during their induction into the university and has several programmes such as the Programme for the Enhancement of Learning, which aims at both students and faculty and Tertiary Literacy, which instils important research skills in students," said Epps.
Meanwhile, D'arcy Drury, applied communications faculty at Abu Dhabi Men's College, believes that the primary role of higher education has always been to "encourage students to question what they hear, see and read".
"I would hope that training students to exercise a certain amount of academic and intellectual rigour would equip them to distinguish between valid and invalid messages," he added.
