Why TV Is Not A Medium For Youngsters Anymore

One can blame the explosion of digital entertainment or list out various other factors, but no one can disagree that television is no more a medium which youngsters actively seek entertainment from. 

With Netflix and Amazon Prime becoming household names in the last couple of years, it’s easy to attribute this shift to consumption patterns, but the real villain in this scenario is the content of Indian television, which has long since detached itself from the pulse of the youngsters in the country.

Back in even the heydays of Kyunki Saans Bhi Bahu Thhi and Kasauti Zindagi Ki, there was a sizeable chunk of young viewers who sat in front of the television every day. Shows like Hip Hip Hurray, Remix told a story that was close to their realities and more importantly spoke a language that sounded real. The exciting chronicles of inter-school competitions or college rivalries was easy to relate to.

Even the love stories had a fresh, clean and youthful charm to it. One can vouch taht there were only a few girls in the country who did not swoon over Dr. Armaan Malik in Dill Mill Gaye.  Even the pre-cursor of Dill Mill Gaye, Saanjevaani had a huge chunk of young admirers. For young working adults discovering work, love and life balance it was their story.

Even the genre of comedy had enough ingredients to pique interests of the youngsters. The humour was clean and witty and thus one need not had to be from one specific age-group to enjoy shows such as Dekh Bhai Dekh , Hum Paanch or Sarabhai v/s Sarabhai.

It is not just about urban stories, even stories of youth in hinterlands was perfectly captured by shows such as Balika Vadhu apart from reflecting an appalling social evil, gave a sneak peek into the childhood in rural India. Don’t even get me started on Malgudi Days which was probably the best show in this genre.

One cursory glance at the present content on Indian television and the reason why one cannot expect today’s youth to relate to it, becomes clear. There is not a single show that has been designed keeping youngsters in mind. Son marrying father’s girlfriends and husbands deeply in love with their shape shifting wives fails impress the young audiences, especially now that they have had a taste of global entertainment and some amazing shows on Indian television itself in their childhood.

Even if lack of content can be argued against as being subjective, the stereotypical portrayal of youngsters is perhaps the most disappointing aspect of Indian television. One can certainly claim that there might be youngsters who would love a good dose of heavy melodrama, after all we have all grown up watching Bollywood, but the clichéd portrayal of youth is simply too much to bear.

If Indian television is to be believed then there are only two categories of young population in the country. One who talks in a an arcane accent, dresses in western clothes, goes clubbing every night, gets into wrong relationships, is obsessed with car and rash driving and above all drinks, smokes and misbehaves with more often than not rich parents.  The other category  are the ones who are not a vain, are  righteous, hardworking, obedient, ambitious in the beginning but then decides to give up a career for personal commitments and are mostly from less affluent backgrounds.

It is funny how the world of television writers travels only between the two extremes. Additionally, it is also heart breaking to see that they obviously use young actors to carry the legacy of stereotypes. But, then again one cannot blame the hapless individuals for whom television open the doors to their big Bollywood dreams.

If Indian television still harbours the dream of bringing its young audience back in front of the TV, this is the perfect time to respond to the wake-up call. For their benefit, they have a rich and amazing history of shows that they can fall back on in case they ever run short of inspirations.