Representation in the media – By Ntsiki Khunju

A need for the masses to equally have a stake in the pie when it comes to being represented in the media.

By Ntsiki Khunju

In an article published by news outlet News24, South Africans spend most of their time glued to their screens, more than any other nation in the world. This article was sourced from a report published by ElectronicsHub, which stipulated that through a research study conducted, study results showed that South Africans spend almost 58.2% of their day browsing social media- which was the highest among all nations. From this report, we can safely deduce that the digital world has been successfully woven into the daily lives of South Africans and that media holistically carries a great potential to influence our thoughts, behaviors, and desires.

The role of sufficient, and adequate representation in moulding self-identity
With the great historical disadvantages and injustices inflicted on people of colour across the globe, it is safe to say that so many years later, as a society, we still suffer from identity development or the formation of positive perceptions of our groups. And the lack of or incorrect representation on screen threatens the perpetuation of these false narratives. The digital world has seen the rise of social media influencers taking the marketing and entertainment field by storm. Various brands have also recognized this new wave of ‘’role models’’ and have quickly gotten on board the train to reach the masses- because where the people are, so is the money. Social media influencers make a living off of depicting certain lifestyles, and behaviours, and following certain trends, which all influence the way civil society behaves, reasons, and perceives themselves. Now, the notion is to state that if influencers alone have the power to drive people’s choices and perceptions in the way that they do- then it is only just that media across its various channels, ensures to balance the scales when it comes to the representation of all- particularly the marginalized and vulnerable groups- who in reality, in our communities, exist like endangered species due to a lack of knowledge and understanding of who they are.

Representation beyond the camera
This balance of scales ought not to take place strictly on-screen alone- this should also be inclusive of taking up space behind the scenes as well- in the establishment and management of various media productions. Rewriting past wrongs comes at the price of acknowledging that to make this just and fair for all, a room must be created for persons of different groups within our societies to access these spaces and make them safe enough for the young to want to pursue. Effective, adequate, and accurate representation in the media supports combating negative stereotypes that have the potential of causing social harm to the groups that exist in our communities. For those who are underrepresented, representation in the media helps they find role models, who inspire them to want to achieve and attain more, by making success a possible reality for them too. An article published by Forbes beautifully outlines that representation enables human beings to experience the feelings of being understood, being seen, and having our inputs and ideas valued, even if our ideas aren’t always implemented.

Representation that matters
It matters how different groups are represented and the media has a responsibility to ensure that whatever story they display is true, accurate, fair, and non-biased, to ensure no social harm is inflicted upon groups as a result of how they were depicted in media.

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Resources:

News24: https://www.news24.com/news24/tech-and-trends/news/south-africans-cant-seem-to-put-their-phones-down-spending-more-time-on-screens-than-any-other-nation-report-20230720
ElectronicsHub: https://www.electronicshub.org/the-average-screen-time-and-usage-by-country/
Forbes: https://www.forbes.com/sites/forbescoachescouncil/2021/12/13/why-representation-is-more-important-than-inclusion-alone/?sh=248becf66c48

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About the author:

Ntsiki Khunju is a member of ACTIVATE! Change Drivers Writer’s Hub. She is a content creator, narrator, and spoken word artist.

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