Societal Curriculum: Effects of Television on Social Values System in Pakistani Society

A curriculum is all the experiences that an individual has in the course of living. Television media, the most important component of the societal curriculum has been receiving increasing scholarly attention. It has become an integral part of our lives and portrays our religious, cultural and societal norms and practices. This study explores the effects of television media as a source of informal curriculum on the social and religious value practices in Pakistani society. For the study, mixed methods were utilised whereby the quantitative data was collected through a five point Likert scale questionnaire from 100 students selected purposively from four universities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. In addition, three focus group discussions were conducted with 15 students (five students each group), yielding the qualitative data. The findings of the study indicate that television has a strong influence, specifically; the way dramas, news and advertisements are presented. This has brought conflicting effects to the social and religious value system and practices of our society in general and particularly, on youth.