The fourth pillar of democracy is the media, so it is quite clear how essential the media is for our society, for us, and for our voice—to speak up if the government is not doing something right, to rectify things if the government is doing something wrong, and for many other such responsibilities.
While this highlights the sheer importance of the media, somewhere along the line while performing this duty, it has strayed from its path and wandered onto a completely different track. It is a track where truth may or may not be visible, but entertainment certainly must be. After all, only then will people take an interest and dedicate their precious time, attention, and mind to watching their so-called truth. To achieve this, you must have noticed how massive graphics are used to present any news, how people talk nonsense for hours on any hot topic, and how the same thing is repeated throughout the day.
However, everyone is well aware of these shortcomings nowadays. People constantly joke that "the media always does this" or "the media always does that." But while most people know about the mainstream media's issues, only a few might be aware of the recent controversy surrounding YouTube Educators.
So, recently, on a primetime show of the Aaj Tak news channel, its highly renowned anchor, Anjana Om Kashyap, raised questions about how online educators—or rather, YouTube educators—do everything except actually teach the students. Starting her discussion, she mentioned how students put in all their effort and go to watch videos on these YouTube channels or attend live streams with the hope that these educators will teach them, listen to all their concerns, answer all their questions, and clear any doubts they might have.
However, a completely different level of drama is unfolding there—even more dramatic than a Bollywood movie. These teachers, or so-called YouTube educators, only care about their own channels: how to promote them, how to market them, and they are willing to do absolutely anything to achieve this.
For instance, while teaching, they might suddenly recount personal stories about past relationships and personal grievances. A significant portion of the class time is then diverted to these personal anecdotes, and students may get distracted by these entertaining but non-educational topics. In such cases, students might be better off knowing they are spending time on entertainment rather than being under the impression that they are receiving an education.
Furthermore, some educators might shift the focus to their luxury possessions, such as cars. They might describe personal altercations following a traffic accident, detailing how they confronted others and used aggressive language or physical gestures to assert themselves. To gain more viewership, they may even repeat inappropriate and offensive language in front of their young audience—language that would be considered unprofessional in any setting. Such behaviour raises serious concerns regarding the psychological impact on students, the values being modeled for them, and how this influences their future conduct and integration into society.
Admittedly, a bit of fun and humor is essential during heavy and intense study sessions. However, this kind of vulgarity is completely unacceptable in any educational setting, and hiding behind the excuse of lighthearted humor does not justify it. It is absolutely intolerable, yet it keeps happening.
Although Anjana Om Kashyap did not forget to add that not all YouTube teachers are bad, which is undeniably true. For many students, these YouTube educators are nothing short of a blessing. If a student is preparing for a competitive exam, a job, or a professional test but cannot afford expensive coaching institutes, these educators are like a godsend. Similarly, for students living in remote villages far away from good academic centers, these educators are a massive help, saving them both time and unnecessary physical exertion.
However, while criticizing YouTube educators, Anjana Om Kashyap claimed they lack proper knowledge, stating, "Today's star teachers, the star teachers of YouTube who know absolutely nothing (kaudi)." In making such a sweeping statement, she perhaps forgot that using this kind of language on national television is inappropriate. Expressing disagreement or anger is one thing, but using such derogatory words cannot be justified, even though she later clarified that not every teacher behaves this way.
The reality is that many teachers start their videos with the sole intention of teaching. They genuinely clear the doubts of students and never resort to vulgar topics. Unfortunately, they do not receive the same level of popularity, views, or support. Instead, it is the controversial ones who gain immense popularity by doing and saying ridiculous things in class.
And very strange thing is that there is a lot of irony in it: see who is talking about showing rubbish on A news representative. These kinds verdict do not sound well from mouth of a news channel representative.
Because what are these some fake, fraudulent You educators are doing that same thing also done by some News channel representatives.
Anjana Om Kashyap is also in the boundaries of questions because she is doing this thing when there a happening of paper leaks and cheating are taking place in the country. So the better strategy would be to do corrections in your performance and do good for people of India and For INDIA INDEED.
And lastly like I always say read everything, anything, but very carefully make your perception and mindset.
Referecnes:
- Anjana On Kashyap - AOK
- Wikipedia.com
- Aajtak.com