A CRITICAL ANALYSIS OF THE IMPACT OF WESTERN MEDIA ON THE FASHION PREFERENCES OF NIGERIAN YOUNG WOMEN

ABSTRACT: This study was carried out to examine the influence of western media on the fashion choices of Nigerian women using female students of Legacy University, Okija as case study. Specifically, the study aimed at showing how the contents of western fashion affects the female students, examining its pervasive impact on the values of the female students and put into consideration if the western fashion should be isolated from them or accepted. The study employed the survey descriptive research design. Questionnaire was used for data collection which was raised against a four Likert scale of Strongly Agree(SA), Agree(A), Strongly Disagree(SD) and Disagree(D). A total of 264 respondents were purposively selected as sample size comprising female students from faculty of education, management sciences, health sciences and social sciences. Out of the 264 respondents, 209 responses were validated from the survey. The study adopted the social learning theory and selectivity theory. From the responses obtained and analyzed, the findings revealed that the western visual event that affects the dressing styles of female students include; movies, music videos, entertainment shows, news programmes, and discussion/religious programmes, and the reasons for the preferred dress style among Nigeria women include; imitating role model/presenters, comfort/convenience, ideological reasons, peer influence, demands of social association. The findings also disclosed that western media has a negative influence on the fashion choice of female students and the diverse ways through which western media fashion content has affected female students include; indulging  in indecent choice of dressing, change of social perception, change of attitude towards social values, change of attitude towards cultural values, engaging in criminal acts, engaging in immoral acts and  lack of regard for religious value. Furthermore the study revealed the impact of western fashion on the values of female students can not be over emphasized, however among the numerous impact include; wearing of short skirt in public, wearing of torn trousers(crazy jeans) in social environments, wearing of skimpy shirts that reveals the tummy, wearing of body hug that displays all contours in the body frames in public, wearing of mini-skirt in the public and wearing of bum shorts and crop tops in public. Lastly the study suggested that western fashion should be isolated from female students. On the basis of these findings, it was recommended that universities and other tertiary institutions should take the issue of dress code serious, punishing students who are found wanting. visual(media) presenters should dress decently at all times as they serve as role models to majority of young ones. NGOs dealing with issues like dress pattern need to sensitize youths about issues of dress pattern. The study further recommend that advertisers need to be censored and stopped from using immoral or indecent images or visuals in their effort to sell their goods or services and parents have a huge role to play at least by making efforts to regulate or balance the amount of foreign content their children are exposed to since the national Broadcasting Commission (NBC) cannot regulate who hooks up to digital medias television. Lastly the study suggest that since the rate of women exposure to foreign medias is high, the regulatory agencies in Nigeria should ensure that media organizations comply with the mandatory 60% local content programmes as against 40% foreign content programme quota as contained in Nigeria broadcasting corporation (NBC) code. This will enable our culture and tradition not to go into extinction.