This is one of the, many, obstacles the youth find whenever they have a particular event organized for the benefit of the community. It is very rare to find mainstream media concentrating on what the youth really do. A lot of emphases have been put on the income generating media coverage. However, political issues in which youth agenda could be included, is rarely the case.
First and foremost, we should understand the meaning of the media coverage for youth events. Take an example from the business sector- for any business to prosper there should be a lot of investment on advertising the projects involved, so as to reach the goals set by the business.
The same applies to youth activities. The more they are exposed, the more motivation, support, and other goodies come with being known by your target group. Their respective projects would, eventually, culminate to success.
The digital age phenomenon has made great strides when it comes to the way the youth get to showcase what they do for the society. With video sharing sites and digital photo albums on the internet, the youth can share their work with others, all over the world, by just a click of the mouse.
There has been numerous advancements of television channels from video sharing sites, such as YouTube and Yahoo videos, where many are sharing programs ranging from environmental to social issues.
An example is my involvement with YouTube, where I have an account for me to upload videos. This acts as my studio. It is quite cheap as all I need to do is to capture a video, edit it, and upload it for others to get to know what I have been doing to make the world a better place.
This has been an inspiration to so many other youth who have either taken up the initiative to participate in social – economic development in their areas. There have been others, who are also involved in ecological conservation and can share with others through the internet.
The digital age has not escaped the negative aspect that good things come with. With free access by anyone, from anywhere- there have been a lot of security risks involved with the digital advancement. For instance, when we look at the internet which is the most widely used digital device, many criminals have proved that it can be a bad thing to advance in technology.
There is also the problem of trying to conform to the ever changing digital technologies. To change from one form of technology to another, involves a lot of costs. The most affected here, in most cases, are the ones with less income.
When all is said and done, digital age has brought a lot of good things to the planet earth and if used well, will bring the much awaited achievements of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
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