Youth experience of deviant behaviour as portrayed in some television programmes: A Case Study of the Youth of Madonsi Village, Limpopo Province, South Africa

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore how the portrayal of deviant behaviour in selected television programmes influences the youth to adopt similar behaviour in their lives. In the past, television programmes for young people were meant to nourish the soul and enable the voice of the youth to be heard. However, hip-hop, gangsta rap, R&B videos and some soap operas represent deviant behaviour in a fashionable manner. That the identity of young people is constructed by the portrayal of deviant behaviour in some television programme becomes a source of national concern. Television plays a major role in the lives of young people. Since the dawn of democracy in the 1990s, South Africa has witnessed rapid expansion in the use of television in households. Economic pressures oblige parents to go out to work, which makes it impossible for them to monitor their children’s viewing. Children are left alone and vulnerable to television programmes that promote deviant behaviour. Of course, not all television programme promote deviant behaviour: for instance, there are educational programmes, but the problem is that these are televised in the morning while young people of this study’s target population are at school. Cultivation theory, media theory and social learning theory were used in this study as a theoretical frame to explain the influence that some television programmes featuring deviant behaviour has on the behaviour of young people. The study was located at Madonsi Village, in the Colins Chabane municipality, South Africa. The study employed a qualitative research methodology, involving purposive sampling of a targeted population. The data collection tool used in the study was the semi-structured interview with focus groups. The data collected was analysed through the use of discourse and thematic analysis. The study sample consisted of twelve participants, six female and six male. Ethical considerations such as informed consent, confidentiality, anonymity and voluntary participation were taken into account to protect the participants. The study’s finding revealed that the portrayed of deviant behaviour in some television programmes result in the following forms of deviant behaviour among young people: premarital sex, the perception of women as sex objects, the use of profane language, the abuse of drugs and alcohol, involvement in gangster activities and sexual confusion. The study recommends that the municipality should build a community library in the area which will be programmed to restrict access to YouTube, pornography, etc.,