Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic has had an effect on everyone's health, safety, and everyday lives. Because of the biological and psychological changes that arise during this developmental phase, youth can be especially vulnerable to this sudden disturbance in their lives. The COVID 19 crisis is a global pandemic that is having a range of impacts on every individual throughout the world as well as Pakistani youth such as anxiety and stress that needs to be addressed. This research is being carried out to determine the effects of electronic media particularly NEWS TV channels on Pakistani youth. The results of the study proved that usage of electronic media is associated with creating awareness and behavioral changes among youth in Pakistan during this pandemic

Key Words

Covid-19 Pandemic, Youth of Pakistan, Electronic Media

Introduction

The COVID-19 pandemic, all things considered, has affected well-being, healthcare, and day-to-day lives. Because of the organic and mental changes that arise during this formative phase, young people can be particularly vulnerable to this unexpected disruption in their lives. The ways in which young people connect and communicate with each other have evolved increasingly in electronic and online media, leading to a continuing debate over whether web-based media is benefiting or harming teens today. The COVID-19 pandemic has just exacerbated these cultural challenges by leveraging web-based media to expend more resources than ever in modern memory. It is therefore necessary for guardians, teachers, and adolescents to more effectively understand the use of web-based media with regard to COVID-19 (Mark McCaffrey et. al, 2020). This paper explores the effects of electronic media for youth adult activities and psychological well-being with respect to COVID-19, taking into account the aspects in which web-based media can be especially beneficial for teens in the form of physical separation rehearsals, and reveals that electronic media habits may adversely affect the physical and emotional well-being of teenagers. Using analysis and theory, the paper offers advice to the earth on promoting the useful use of electronic media by young people and freeing its harmful consequences during the COVID-19 disease outbreak. 

Because more people rely on electronic as well as social media to sustain social association and avoid social division than any other time, this study may be useful for people of any age who want to understand the benefits and drawbacks of electronic media usage during the COVID-19 disease outbreak (Genevieve F. Dunton, 2020).

During the 2020 COVID 19 pandemic and related lockdown/social separating, numerous researchers pointed towards the issue of expanded computerized innovation abuse, for example, electronic media, web-based media in the youths (Ayesha Anwar et. al, 2020).

COVID 19

Coronavirus is an unstoppable global outbreak

that originated in December 2019 from Wuhan in China's Hubei Territory. It has extended across the globe to 210 countries. On 30 January 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared it a pandemic and raised global questions regarding general well-being. As of July 15, 2020, this disorder has infected over 13 million people. Around 0.6 million passes were accounted for to this point in time. It was unmistakably more dangerous than other relatives of Covid, with a casualty ratio of 1.4 percent (differing somewhat among nations). The Chinese specialists declared their first instance of pneumonia of mysterious etiology from 31 December 2019 until 3 January 2020, when a total of 44 cases were registered to the WHO. Be that as it may, during this declared time, the causal specialist was not remembered. Accordingly, on Jan 7, 2020, the novel Covid was accepted and its genomic arrangement was imparted to the planet. On Feb 11, 2020, WHO called the disease as 'Coronavirus' and the causative infection as 'SARS-CoV-2'? It was identified because of its genetic resemblance to the Covid that triggered the 2003 SARS flare-up. SARS Covid SAR-CoV and MERS Covid MERS-CoV comprise different individuals from the family (Blossom Fernandes et. al, 2020). 

Electronic Media

Media indicated that new correspondence methods are used to impart and cooperate between individuals simply like specialized gadget. The electromechanical device is the medium through which electronic media can be accessed. The majority of people are receiving data these days, just as it simplifies the correspondence and gets relevant information. In this emergency circumstance electronic media has discovered their place, as other medium are in lamentable circumstance and not effectively open. As various online media stage can be appeared, various stations are appeared on TV, various radio broadcast are nm air at present time. So the compass of electronic media is developing step by step and lockdown gave a lift to its use (Sambhav, 2020).

Influence of Electronic Media on Youth

To start with, the media should be perceived as a significant general medical problem as opposed to as a progression of business tries needing guideline, as they are among the most critical impacts on youth. This tackles various distinct concerns, including savagery, corpulence, nicotine and liquor consumption, and unhealthy sexual activities, which are fundamentally necessary for adolescent well-being. TV and other media must be viewed as more than wellsprings of shrewd or simple inactive delights; yes, their capacity to enrich our young people's lives is immense, and that opportunity should be investigated and accomplished. Consequently, we need to find ways to deal with improve the piece of media in our overall population, misusing their positive credits and restricting their negative ones. Media should pass on sure directives for instance program to address youth power, to ask gatekeepers to chat with their pre-adolescent moreover, youthful grown-up young people "early and consistently" about conceding the start of sexual activity, threatening to tobacco message, etc composing also communicates that with media's coordinated effort, it is possible to take huge prosperity messages to the neighborhood to screen out pictures that legitimize practices risky to youth prosperity (staff, 2020).

For this instance, it is necessary to study for the effects that are being caused by electronic media specifically News TV channels during this course of pandemic COVID 19 on the youth of Pakistan. This study will define the nature of impacts upon youth of Pakistan during this specific impact of pandemic COVID 19 (Bilal, 2020). 

Significance of the Study

64% population of Pakistan comprises of it youth and during this tough time of pandemic our youth was most affected, this is why it’s very important to study the impact of Pandemic electronic media coverage on youth

This study is carried out in order to observe and define those effects that are hitting most of the youth in Pakistan that are more prone to electronic media during this specific period of lockdown in pandemic COVID 2019. This study is highly beneficial for the content creators and will help them making content for this particular age group of youth to have better and effective communication. 

 This study will deeply explain and explore how the Pakistani TV channels covered the pandemic in order get the desired effect and much needed actions and precautions from the target audience by spreading awareness about the seriousness of the Pandemic.

Research Objective

1. To identify and investigate the impact of electronic media on Youth of Pakistan during the Pandemic COVID-19 

2. To analyse the impact of electronic media on Youth of Pakistan in accordance to usage for information during the Pandemic COVID-19

3. To evaluate the impact of electronic media on Youth of Pakistan regarding behavioural changes during the Pandemic COVID-19

4. To evaluate the impact of electronic media on Youth of Pakistan regarding creating awareness during the Pandemic COVID-19

5. This study aims to support content creators in making Quality content for the audience in such pandemic situation.

Rationale

The rationale for this study is that the effect of electronic media of all type is influencing every individual including kids, youth and adults to different extents. During this course of pandemic, different studies are carried out to check mental stability of every individual but the impact of electronic media is missing especially in terms for youth (who are approaching for their future). It is necessary to study the extent of effect caused by electronic media, highlighting news channels, upon youth during this hard time of pandemic COVID 19 face through the whole world. 

Over the course of the long stretches of full lockdown (23 March-10 May), direct TV saw a normal ascent of 21% (+18% for 16-34s) and business Broadcaster VOD was up by 45%. With the country's schedules significantly adjusted, we saw unmistakable changes to TV seeing examples. Daytime TV seeing was up 36% and daytime reach up 22%, while seeing among youngsters became 32%. As family units invested more energy at home together, we noticed a 30% ascent in shared survey and unmistakable expansions in review of specific types. Obviously, survey of information content expanded by 45%, however there were likewise remarkable expanded for films (+34%) and parody (+21%). The figures differed week to week, yet the effect was clear (Alsadah, 2017).

This study is carried out in order to observe and define those effects that are hitting most of the youth in Pakistan that are more prone to electronic media during this specific period of lockdown in pandemic COVID 2019. 

Literature Review Role of Media in COVID 19

Anwar et. al, 2020 reviews in their research that to consider the media effect and sickness elements, the media sway model was planned after the pandemic of SARS 2003-2004. This was unsure of the overall positive or negative influence of the newspapers, causing the need to improve the model and consider its possessions accordingly. In the MERS episode in 2012, once more, the media assumed its part. With headways in innovation and an increment in the openness of the web to the average person, public mindfulness expanded complex, in this way encouraging better adherence to fundamental general wellbeing measures. The part of web-based media in the MERS scourge in 2012 and the H7N9 plague in China was contemplated, indicating a more grounded response in the H7N9 pandemic. It further depicts the significance of the subject of conversation. 

In this season of mental emergencies, different emotional well-being associations have built up a thorough methodology for dealing with the quickly rising mental infection load. Forlornness because of social detachment, uneasiness about illness vulnerability among influenced, monetary misfortunes because of business terminations, despair because of segregation, and a sleeping disorder from fatigue are a portion of the mental issues looked by individuals. There has been an expansion in the quantity of suicides. Aggressive behavior at home is on the ascent. Additionally, sorrow and deprivation of losing realized individuals are being perceived. A specialist group has been shaped to serve in the present circumstance. Online emotional well-being administrations are attempting to battle mental infections, and specialists and therapists on the web give free counsels. Online media is adding to emotional wellness training for general society (Huanyu Bao et. al, 2020).

At any level of analysis into the ties between media consumption and policies, it is important to understand content. Rough TV review may impact more youthful kids to be more standoffish; coming about in their turning out to be socially disconnected which, thusly, pulls in them to more savage media. To streamline youths' social turn of events and long-haul mental wellbeing, guardians, instructors, and doctors ought to debilitate the survey of vicious TV programs (D.Elhai, 2020).

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical foundations and framework for this study has been provided by the Cultivation theory and Social Responsibility theory of media.

Cultivation Theory

Gerbner, proposed that the media viewing cultivated reality in the minds of the viewers to think and accept what media shows them as the reality. The theory proposes that the heavy viewership of media cultivates the attitudes and beliefs that are created by the media and are not of the real world. 

Social Responsibility Theory 

The theory proposes that media should take actions to promote and play a role that is not only harmless but also beneficial for the society. In simple words, the media are ought to give “something” back to the society. The social responsibly theory of media binds the media to play a positive, constructive, and responsible role for the betterment of the society which we have evaluated in light of this theory on pandemic coverage that how media helped make youth aware of the covid-19 pandemic thus enabling them to behave as responsible citizens.

Relevance of the Selected Theories with this Study

The cultivation theory is considered to be the fundamental part of our research framework whereas Social responsibility theory acts as supporting base for our findings. The study aims to observe and investigate the role of news Tv Channel viewership in the changing or affecting the perceptions of youth specifically during the pandemic time. The study also aims to see how news TV pandemic coverage helped in bringing awareness in youth regarding pandemic according to the concept of cultivation theory. The researcher has tried to find out the practical application of the cultivation theory through this study. This study also aims to see the role Pakistani media News TV channels are playing in promoting awareness about the sops set by government of Pakistan according to WHO guidelines amongst the youth. The social responsibly theory of media binds the media to play a positive, constructive and responsible role for the betterment of the society which will be evaluated through the results of this study. The researcher has tried to measure and evaluate the role of the media in spreading awareness among the youth in the light of Social Responsibility theory; thus, helping the to act as responsible citizens.

Methodology Research Design

Quantitative of approach of research is used to find out the measurable results in this study, the quantitative research involves generation of data in quantitative form which can be made to evaluate data rigorously in a formal rigid fashion. Purpose of selecting this kind of research is to gather data from population in quantifiable way so we can run different statistical techniques to interpret and assess our findings in empirical manner.

Hypothesis

H1: usage of electronic media is associated with behavioral changes among the youth of Pakistan during pandemic COVID 19

H2: usage of electronic media is associated with creating awareness among youth of Pakistan during pandemic COVID 19

H3: The youth of Pakistan trusted the information provided by Main-stream Media More than the information they received on digital media during pandemic period.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                       Conceptualization and Operationalization

Conceptualization process helped in this study to specify and explain a concept or phenomenon to clarify what does that mean. It is the standard or universal meaning of a concept which is shared by the major portion of a society. Whereas operationalization will help the readers and the researcher to identify and explain certain concepts according to this specific study that how the researcher has assumed the meanings of those concepts? The researcher has conceptualized and operationalized some of the important key terms in this study as following.

News TV Channels

Conceptual Definition

TV channels that continuously broadcast News, Current affair programs, analysis, and Weather updates.

Operational Definition

The data is collected from the youth studying in different universities all over Pakistan. Different individual was following different news channels. As the choice of the news channel was not asked in the questionnaire but randomly some of the respondents were asked to name the channels they followed or are still following during this pandemic. 

As per this verbal survey, the news channels that were regularly followed by the youth are:

? Geo News

? ARY News

? Dunya News

? Express News

? PTV News

These were the trending news channels throughout the course of pandemic.

Pandemic

Conceptual Definition

A pandemic is generally known as a disease outbreak or spread world wide. 

Operational Definition

The researcher has operationalized the term pandemic as Novel Corona Virus disease that spread from Wuhan City, Hubei province, China. This respiratory illness spread the whole world and WHO declared this epidemic as Pandemic. The Term pandemic in this research refers to contagious Covid-19 respiratory illness.

Youth of Pakistan

Conceptual Definition

Youth is generally defined as the time period between the childhood and adult age. This is the most energetic and maximum output producing time span of life.

Operational Definition

The researcher has operationalized the concept of youth as the university students of different private and public sector universities of Punjab between the ages of 18 to 28.

Research Method

The survey method is used to collect data to in order to verify the hypothesis in empirical fashion. The most useful tool when the researcher wants to study the effects of certain phenomenon on minds and opinion of people.

Universe of the Study

The universe of this study is all the youth of Punjab. We have selected this particular group of youth because it has certain abilities such as level of education, social awareness, exposure to media and comparatively high sense of consciousness

Population

University going students of Punjab and we further simplified it by limiting the age group to 18-28 years.

Sample Size

To carry out this research we have selected a sample size of 500 students.

Sampling Technique

The most common method of non-probability sampling is used by applying convenient sampling technique to choose the sample for this study.

Data Collection Tool

In this research study, Google forms were used as data collection tool. A Google Form is an ideal method for gathering comments from users that was circulated online in order to analyze the opinion and attitude of people for this study.

Questionnaire Formation

The Questionnaire for this survey was divided in to 4 sections that included.

1. Disclaimer

2. Demographic data such as Gender, age and level of education 

3. The 3rd section was specified as Part 1: “Usage of Electronic Media for Information” a total number of 5 Questions were added in this section

4. The 4th section was specified as Part2: “Creating Awareness in Youth” it also included 5 Questions related to Covid-19 and awareness amongst youth.

5. The Part3: “Behavioral changes” 5 questions related to the behavioural changes caused by electronic media on youth during the period of pandemic were included.

Limitations

The study has certain limitation such as;

1. The study only includes sample form the university students only.

2. The study includes 500 students from various universities and the sample size can be increased in a future study.

3. There is no classification of private sector or public sector universities as the survey was spread online.

4. Convenient technique of sampling was used and this why there is no specific figure being collected to know that how many students from each city or university of Punjab responded.

Data Analysis

After the data collection, data analysis was done by using data analysis tool. Different responses were obtained according to different views of youth. These responses were statistically analyzed by running different tests to predict the data. The two tests were performed; correlation test and linear regression tests.

• Correlation is a quantitative tool for determining if two continuous variables have a linear relationship. Calculating and analyzing it is easy.

• By fitting a linear equation to observed data, linear regression attempts to predict the relationship between two variables. A framework can first decide whether or not there is a relationship between the variables of interest before attempting to fit a linear model to observed data.








Table 1. Correlation Analysis of Part 1 of Questionnaire

The correlation analysis of the part 1: usage of electronic media by the youth of Pakistan can be seen in the above table. From the values of correlation among different question of the part 1, it seen that the first question’s (NEWS TV channels in Pakistan during COVID 19 pandemic did not sensationalize the issue rather provided important information about the contagious disease?) responses are giving highly positive correlation coefficient that is 1, the second question’s (the continuous broadcast of tally count regarding number of COVID 19 affected people, number of deaths and number of recoveries was fact based?) responses are showing slightly positive correlation coefficient that is 0.175, the third question’s (NEWS TV channels were your primary source of information during the pandemic COVID 19?) responses are giving negative correlation coefficient as its -0.007,  the fourth question’s (the information provided on NEWS TV channels during pandemic period was authentic and scientifically proven?) responses are giving slightly positive correlation coefficient but less than that of question 2 as it is 0.070 and the fifth question’s (the information provided on Pakistani NEWS TV channels during the pandemic period was enough to understand the nature of SARS COVID 19 virus?)  responses are giving positive correlation coefficient but less than question 1, that is 0.236. 

Table 2. Correlation Analysis of Part 2 of Questionnaire

The correlation analysis of as Part 2 Creating Awareness in Youth is shown in the above table. From the values of correlation among different question of the part 1, it is seen that the first question’s (Pakistan News TV channels during pandemic provided enough information about the COVID 19 hot numbers and help line set by government officials?) responses are giving positive correlation coefficient than all the questions as it is giving value of 1 which predicts positive correlation, the second question’s (NEWS TV transmissions during pandemic period helped busting wide spread myths regarding SARS COVID 19?) responses are giving slightly positive correlation coefficient as it is giving value of 0.231, the third question’s (NEWS TV channels transmissions during pandemic followed guidelines from WHO for creating awareness about stopping/minimizing spread of virus?) responses are giving slightly high positive correlation coefficient than the second question but less positive than question 1, as it is 0.434, the fourth question’s (NEWS TV channels provided enough information about SOP’s during the lockdown to stop the spread of virus?) responses is slightly positive correlation coefficient which is higher than question 2 but lower than question 3, that is 0.299 and the fifth question’s (NEWS TV channel transmissions enabled  people to understand the seriousness of the pandemic and ongoing global crisis?) responses is also giving slightly high positive correlation coefficient but more positive than question 2 and question 4 but less than question 3, that is 0.339.

 

Correlation of Part 3: Behavioral Changes Among Youth of Pakistan




Table 3. Correlation Coefficients of Part 3 of Questionnaire

The correlation analysis of Part 3. Behavioural changes are shown in the above table. From the values of correlation among different question of the part 1, it is seen that the first question’s (Did you increase you watch time of NEWS TV channels during pandemic/lock down period?) responses are showing positive correlation coefficient, that is 1, the second question’s (Did you feel more anxious and stressed after watching NEWS TV channels during pandemic?) responses are giving slightly positive correlation coefficient, as it is showing 0.148, the third question’s (Does watching NEWS TV channels put your concern of pandemic to ease?) responses are giving slightly high positive correlation coefficient, that is 0.353, the fourth question’s (Did electronic media transmission during COVID 19 enabled masses to behave as responsible citizens?) responses are showing slightly high positive correlation coefficient than question 2 but low than question 3, that is 0.318 and the fifth question’s (Do you think NEWS TV channels spread sensations about the ongoing pandemic crisis that cause you anxiety of any sort of behavioral change in your mood after watching the NEWS?) responses are showing slight positive but higher than question 2 only, that is 0.275. 

Table 4. Average Correlation Coefficient of Questions of Part 1 in Questionnaire

The above table is showing average correlation coefficients of the questions of part 1: usage of electronic media by the youth of Pakistan, in which the first question of this part is dependent and other questions remains constant. When looking at the average of the correlation coefficient of the constant questions, it is observed that all the constants are positive than the third constant question that is giving negative correlation.

Table 5. The Average Correlation Coefficients of the Questions of Part 2

The above table shows average correlation coefficients of questions of Part 2 Creating Awareness in Youth. The question 1 of this part is dependent while other questions remains constant. All the constant questions show the positive correlation coefficients. 

Table 6. The Average Correlation Coefficient of Questions of Part 3

The above table shows the average correlation coefficient of questions of Part 3. Behavioural changes. The first question of this part is dependent while other questions are constant. By looking at the average of the constant questions it is seen that the average of all correlation coefficient is positive.  

Table 7. Linear Regression of the Question Mentioned as Constant

Model      R	R square	Adjusted R square	Std. error of the estimate
1      .346a	.120	.113	1.103

 




Predictors: (constant) the continuous broadcast of tally count regarding number of COVID affected people, number of deaths and number of recoveries was fact based? News TV channels in Pakistan during COVID 19 pandemic did not sensationalize the issue rather provided important information about the contagious disease? The information provided on Pakistan News TV channels during the pandemic period was enough to understand the nature of Sars COVID 19 virus? , the information provided by the News TV channels during pandemic period was authentic and scientifically proven?

The above table shows values of R and R2. R represents simple correlation and according to the above table the correlation is 0.346, which is low degree of correlation. R2 represents total variation in the dependent variable and according to the above table the value of R2 is 0.120 that means the total variation is 12% that is very low.

Table 8. Regression Model Predicting the Dependent Variable

Model	Sum of squares	df	Mean square	F	Sig.
Regression	92.460	4	23.115	18.989	<.001b
Residual	680.477	559	1.217
Total	772.936	563




Dependent Variable: NEWS TV channels were your primary source of information during the pandemic COVID 19?

 

Predictors: (constant) the continuous broadcast of tally count regarding number of COVID affected people, number of deaths and number of recoveries was fact based? News TV channels in Pakistan during COVID 19 pandemic did not sensationalize the issue rather provided important information about the contagious disease? The information provided on Pakistan News TV channels during the pandemic period was enough to understand the nature of Sars COVID 19 virus? , the information provided by the News TV channels during pandemic period was authentic and scientifically proven?

The table above indicates that the regression model predicts the dependent variable significantly well. The above table is giving the average of the linear regression of the dependent variable discussed in the table 7. 

Table 9. Linear Regression of the Question Mentioned as Constant

Table 10. Regression Model Predicting the Dependent Variable

Model	Sum of squares	Df	Mean square	F	Sig.
Regression	141.247	4	35.312	45.810	<.001b
Residual	430.895	559	.771
Total	572.142	563

 




Dependent Variable: Pakistani NEWS TV channel during pandemic provided enough information about the COVID hot numbers and help line set by Govt. officials?

Predictors: (constant), NEWS TV channel transmissions enabled people to understand the seriousness of the pandemic and ongoing global crisis? , NEWS TV channel transmissions during pandemic followed guidelines from WHO for creating awareness about stopping/Minimizing the spread of virus? , NEWS TV transmissions during pandemic period helped busting wide spread myths regarding Sars COVID 19? , NEWS TV channels provided enough information about SOPs during the lockdown to stop the spread of virus?

The table above indicates that the regression model predicts the dependent variable significantly well. The above table is giving the average of the linear regression of the dependent variable discussed in the table 9. 

Table 11. Linear Regression of the Question Mentioned as Constant

Model R	R square	Adjusted R square	Std. error of the estimate
.452a	.204	.198	1.125

 




Predictors: (constant), Do you think News TV channels spread sensationalism about the ongoing pandemic crisis that caused you anxiety or any sort of behavioral change in your mood after watching the news? , Does watching TV news channels put your concerns about the pandemic to ease? , Did you feel more anxious and stressed after watching news TV channels during pandemic? , Did Electronic Media Transmission during COVID 19 enabled masses to behave as responsible citizens?

The above table shows values of R and R2. R represents simple correlation and according to the above table the correlation is 0.452, which is low degree of correlation. R2 represents total variation in the dependent variable and according to the above table the value of R2 is 0.204 that means the total variation is 20% that is very low. 

Table 12. Regression Model Predicting the Dependent Variable

Model	Sum of squares	Df	Mean Square	F	Sig.
Regression	181.391	4	45.348	35.824	<.001b
Residual	707.602	559	1.266
Total	888.993	563

 




Dependent Variable: Did you increase your watch time of NEWS TV channels during lock down/pandemic period?

Predictors: (constant), Do you think News TV channels spread sensationalism about the ongoing pandemic crisis that caused you anxiety or any sort of behavioral change in your mood after watching the news? , Does watching TV news channels put your concerns about the pandemic to ease? , Did you feel more anxious and stressed after watching news TV channels during pandemic? , Did Electronic Media Transmission during COVID 19 enable masses to behave as responsible citizens?

The table above indicates that the regression model predicts the dependent variable significantly well. The above table is giving the average of the linear regression of the dependent variable discussed in the table 11. 

Results Part 1: Usage of Electronic Media for Information

According to the research survey done among the youth of Pakistan, it is clearly observed that the youth of Pakistan did turn towards the electronic media (NEWS TV channels) during this course of pandemic. Many of the youth, who were not very fond of electronic media, reported to have their watch time increased during this course of Pandemic crisis. Although there was conflict of information provided by the NEWS TV channels but still youth of Pakistan considered electronic media more than the digital media. Hence validating our hypothesis H3: The youth of Pakistan trusted the information provided by Main-stream Media More than the information they received on digital media during pandemic period.

Part 2 Creating Awareness in Youth

Many of the youth respondents admitted that NEWS TV channels were a good source of awareness regarding the ongoing pandemic. But, on the similar hand a significant number of youths were also neutral regarding the data provided by the NEWS TV channels regarding the deaths and recoveries against SARS COVID 19. Many of the youth were not so serious about considering the hot number of COVID as well as the helplines provide by NEWS TV channels. There was also conflict of opinion regarding SOPs provided by the NEWS TV channels to stop the spread of COVID 19, but majority was following the guidelines provided by the NEWS TV channels. And the study give us positive outcome regarding cultivation theory of Media because whether the people agree to what was being told to them (via pandemic coverage) or they did not agree, still people followed the guidelines given by media.

Part 3: Behavioural Changes

According to this report, the majority of viewers do not perceive the news on television to be encouraging. Negatives, as we all know, are frequently sensational, which boosts ratings and TRP; in other words, they represent what audiences want to see. That does not indicate that the way news is broadcast is reliable. Furthermore, news must be news; it cannot be fantasy. Since most people do not believe reporting, they double-check it with a credible source. Advertisement is the most effective medium for communicating a message, as shown by this survey, as the majority of respondents were pleased with the advertising and understood the message. During quarantine, the media has done an excellent job in educating the public, as shown by this poll, which indicates that the social responsibility theory was completely in action during this course of time. Despite these realities, the main behavioral shift that electronic media is creating among Pakistan's youth is fear and tension, rather than constructive behavioral changes. Also the air time of Quacks was more than the medical professionals and the medical professionals also seemed to have conflict of opinion about the outbreak and its spread. 

Conclusion and Discussions

During the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic, electronic media, especially NEWS TV channels, has already occupied a significant portion of our lives. According to the report, Pakistani youth seem to be heavily reliant on knowledge presented by NEWS TV channels. Researchers have also collected a vast body of study into the detrimental impact that multiple social media outlets have on both teenagers and adults. Behavioral shifts, which cause fear and depression in a significant number of people, are the most serious of all the negative consequences. 

According to a survey, the majority of people use social media to obtain information. According to the results of this report, the majority of people do not perceive the news transmitted on television by NEWS TV networks to be positive. Negatives, as we all know, are frequently sensational, which boosts ratings and TRP; in other words, they represent what audiences want to see. That does not indicate that the way news is broadcast is reliable. Furthermore, news must be news; it cannot be fantasy. Since most people do not believe reporting, they double-check it with a credible source. Advertisement is the most effective medium for communicating a message, as shown by this survey, as the majority of respondents were pleased with the advertising and understood the message. Electronic media (NEWS TV channels) is doing admirably during quarantine; media has won the fight of delivering all relevant details to the public, as demonstrated by this poll, with the majority of citizens pleased.

The NEWS TV channels should focus on the strategy to spread positivity during this course of pandemic in order to resolve the anxiety and stress concerns of the youth as well as the other individuals. It will not be wrong to say that people including youth of Pakistan, during this era are still looking forward towards the information provided by the NEWS TV channels regarding the current status of spread of COVID 19 within the whole country as well as throughout the world. Thus, the role of the NEWS TV channels cannot be overlooked. 

Recommendation for Future Work

Since the pandemic is not yet over, the scenario is shifting day by day, and the viewpoint of the Television TV networks is also changing in reaction to the everyday situation of the virus's propagation. As a result, the findings of this analysis of electronic media impacts (NEWS TV channels) cannot be considered constant.

There is need to evaluate the changing situations caused by the virus spread and so the effects of the NEWS TV channels as the information provided by these are changing day by day. The number of the youth considered for this study was just a small number of youth present in the Pakistan, so we cannot predict the complete results of this study until we can carry out the study on the large scale to evaluate the clear picture of the effects caused by the NEWS TV channels on the youth of Pakistan.

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