KARACHI, June 26: Media is changing social, as well as, moral values of our society at a rapid pace and children are its first victims, said speakers of a seminar here on Saturday.

The seminar on ‘Effects of Media on Society” was organized by Women Education Forum.

MNA Samia Raheel of MMA presided over the seminar. She said that the media was mesmerizing our nation.

She was of the view that the media was consciously and unconsciously changing our thoughts and making us the way it wanted us to be.

The MNA said that the media was affecting our lives socially, morally and both mentally and physically.

The media brutally decreases mental abilities of children; she said adding that programmes of foreign, as well as, local media did not follow our social, cultural and religious values.

She said that new trends introduced by the media were increasing vulgarity and extremism and affecting not only children but also the adults.

Ms Raheel said that the growing cases of homosexuality were one of the negative outcomes of the modern media.

Principal Beacon Light School Azra Anwar said that the media was the way of communication.

She said that the parents should keep an eye on the kind and nature of programmes their children watched.

Ms Zarqa Zafar said in the foreign countries there were proper timings of programmes for adults and the children could only watch the recommended channels, but in our country there was still no such system of parental control.

TV artist Jahan Aara Hayee, director/producer/writer Seema Ghazal, chairperson department of Islamic History, University of Karachi, Prof Nigar Sajjad and DO Higher Secondary Education Fakhar Kareem also spoke.—PPI