With over 2 billion children around and world this day is of great significance around the globe especially to India, as we contribute to nearly 20% of this population. A lot is been discussed and delivered on the rights of the children and their well-being but still a lot more is needed in the fast-changing global scenarios. When we say, the “fast-changing” scenarios, first and the foremost comes the Digital Evolution which is growing at an exponential growth on a daily basis and impacting directly the lives of these millions of children around the globe.
Children are simple. Their world is very small but their imagination is infinite. All they want is a childhood filled with hope and happiness. That is exactly where “Entertainment” comes in! Through entertainment they learn and grow. It is their Birth right indeed. In this digital era, their sources of this entertainment are many – in a way unwantedly unlimited! The stories they listen and watch leaves a remarkable impact on their character building, leadership, innovation and inspiration. So, it’s of immense responsibility on one of us to make sure that they consume their daily dose of content in a safe and right way. Many surveys and researches concluding that the explicit games and other content are having a deep negative impact on the tiny minds leading to many complications and sometimes deaths as well.
Coming to the Indian scenario, we are a nation with nearly 40 Cr children who are below the age of 15. It’s a huge number, needless to say their present well-being directly influences the future of a Nation which wants to become the superpower of the world in the coming decades. However, the kid’s entertainment scenario in India is quite minimalistic as the numbers say -with over 1000 films that release every year not even 10 belong to the category of Children’s Genre. A Nation with a great civilizational and cultural background is yet to produce a world class children’s film that the children around the globe too can enthrall. The content that is streamed across major platforms too is largely either imported from other parts of the world with no cultural relevance or lacking in substance and style! Slowly our children too getting used to the explicit and violent games and every now and then we see some news of it! This is a very serious problem that is going to impact to socio, cultural thread of our society very soon, if not already!
How can Indian Kids Media and Entertainment can contribute?
Well, the answer is simple – Create Content that is culturally deep rooted with universal values, inspired from the great ethos of this land that echoes the peace, harmony, comraderie and brotherhood. We are a land of stories and the world is yet to hear it. It the time that we need to bring these stories on to the world stage just like the way Disney and other have been doing since a long time. The world is ready to consume the content from this part of the world – it’s only a matter of time that we create such compelling characters and stories for the children across the world.
We are one of the largest democracies in the world and surely the role of the government in protecting and safeguarding this Right of Children is undisputable. We need to have an apex body which monitors and regulates this ocean of content that is flooding every day and submerging the children and adults alike. National Broadcaster too can think of a dedicated international kid channel that commissions timeless content and streams across the globe. The media houses too should step in to this Genre to create some of the classic tales with an Indian touch for the global audience. This is still a nascent and niche genre that is waiting to be explored.
All in all, Children are the youngest members of human family and they need to be nurtured, safeguarded for a better tomorrow and brighter world. People from all walks of Life – Parents, Teachers, Film makers, Media Houses, Government and Every one should think about it and work for their well-being and entertainment in a right way.
(Views are Personal)
