THE IMPACT OF MEDIA ON THE POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY OF PAKISTAN A QUALITATIVE STUDY

Abstract

This study explores the phenomenon of the impact of media power on political perceptions of public. The motivation behind it is that how public opinions and views regarding their country politics get psychologically influenced by the media power. The study was carried out on youth of Karachi their ages ranging from 18-24 years. A pilot study in the form of a focus group comprising of 5 participants was conducted to gather some views on the factors involved in political psychology. The resulting discussion led to the construction of a questionnaire and a focus group criterion to conduct the study. After a pilot a focus group was conducted on a sample of 7 males and 7 females who were selected from various departments of the University of Karachi. Aspects such as how developed countries brought changes in the community through political psychology? What is the importance and impact of media on political culture? How media can remove the political stereotypes from the society? Why Pakistani media has failed in developing a strong sociopolitical institution isdiscussed. Content analysis was carried out on the data that was collected from the two focus groups. The analyses revealed that without doubt media has a very strong impact in forming a connection between the public and the political leaders .Since it has a power of verbal expression and communication it can change the mind set of people. The point that arises here is that it all depends how the media plays its role if it communicates in a healthy way. It can bridge the gap between the common public and stake holders.