Read the passage and answer the questions:
A non-profit organisation wanted to promote and teach people of a village about the benefits of Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS). They made colorful posters with graphics and pasted them near the Panchayat and Health Centre of the village. However, despite the posters displayed at multiple points in the entire village, they were unable to communicate or bring positive change in the attitude of the villagers. They changed their strategy and started using radio to educate the villagers. When one of the volunteers started to interact face-to-face with the villagers, she was surprised to see that most of the villagers were unaware of the benefits of ORS despite the efforts of the organisation. During the interaction, she found that disseminating information regarding ORS by meeting in person was more persuading. She reported this to her seniors and requested to change in the strategy to bring positive changes in the attitude of the villagers regarding the uses of ORS.
The volunteer proposed a social media campaign to communicate widely among the villagers about the benefits of ORS. However, this was not an effective step for attitude change because:
Answer & explanation
Correct answer: option 2
The correct answer is Option (2) → Face-to-face interaction was missing
Option (1) The volunteer did not know how to organize a good online campaign — Incorrect. The case says nothing about the volunteer’s skill. Even a well-run online campaign remains media transmission, which is the weakness here.
Option (2) Face-to-face interaction was missing — Correct. Transmission through visual media such as television and the Internet is similar to face-to-face interaction, but not a substitute for it. A social media campaign still lacks the direct, in-person talk that the volunteer had found most persuading.
Option (3) Posters were sufficient mode of transmission — Incorrect. The posters failed to bring any positive change in the villagers’ attitude, so they cannot be called sufficient.
Option (4) The radio show was more interactive — Incorrect. Radio is one-way mass media; it is not interactive at all, and it too had failed to persuade the villagers.
NCERT (2025-26): “Message characteristics : … Finally, the mode of spreading the message plays a significant role. Face-to-face transmission of the message is usually more effective than indirect transmission, as for instance, through letters and pamphlets, or even through mass media. For example, a positive attitude towards Oral Rehydration Salts (ORS) for young children is more effectively created if community social workers and doctors spread the message by talking to people directly, than by only describing the benefits of ORS on the radio (see Figure 6.3). These days transmission through visual media such as television and the Internet are similar to face-to-face interaction, but not a substitute for the latter.” |