Missing Youth Media

Media is a powerful tool that connects people across geographies, demographics, and cultures. It exists in many forms, including written, audio, visual, and, more recently, digital media. Historically, the media have been primarily used for communication and information transfer. Over time, the commercialisation of this simple communication function turned media into a trillion-dollar industry.

The largest consumers of modern media, particularly entertainment media, are young people, specifically adolescents and young adults. Recognising this reality, much of the world has worked to cater to their interests. Nepal, however, has struggled to prioritise the interests of its youth in its entertainment media.

Globally, the media have proven to be one of the strongest instruments of soft power. The Hallyu wave, led by K-dramas and K-pop, has elevated South Korea’s global standing while positively impacting other domestic industries. Japan has been able to forge a global cultural identity through manga and anime. Hollywood, the most dominant entertainment industry, has long understood the importance of young audiences and catered to them. 

In contrast, Nepal has been unable to develop a media ecosystem that meets its youth where they are. Entertainment media in Nepal are limited both in scope and quantity, often relying on familiar formulas aimed at a general mass audience. As a result, young people whose tastes are shaped by global exposure often feel dissatisfied.

Nepal’s small population and spending power make its entertainment market a high-risk one, and, understandably, the industry may not be large. However, the absence of even a single widely acknowledged work that resonates strongly with its youth is alarming.

This has deeper cultural consequences. Media influences values, perceptions, and outlook on life. It teaches us about society and how we belong to it. It connects youth to society. When young people grow up consuming a certain country’s media, they start to learn and internalise those values.  

As a result, we have a fragmented youth identity where a particular fragment feels very different from the other, as if they are from different countries. Their humour, aspirations, and way of thinking are also imported from that particular country, leading to disconnection within their age group as well.

This disconnect is visible even in language. As young people look to learn Japanese, Chinese, and Korean, our very own language is becoming harder for them to understand. Young children are becoming fluent in Hindi through media to the point that they struggle to differentiate between Hindi and Nepali words. Children educated in English-medium schools have started to struggle with their Nepali coursework.

There is an economic cost as well. Young people are the biggest market demographic, impacting industries from fashion to technology. Global markets depend on youth consumption. Without local production capitalising on this potential, money can only flow outward. A thriving domestic media industry could instead help drive growth across other sectors.

Global exposure and connection are important in today’s time, but they cannot come at the cost of disconnection from one’s own culture. There must be a sustained effort from all sides to nurture young voices and build media that speaks to them. Without a serious effort to understand and connect with youth through locally grounded storytelling, Nepal risks losing cultural continuity with its next generation.