Very rarely do young, educated people use social media to express their discontent or politically engage with issues.
Authors
Swetasree Ghosh Roy, Professor of Political Science, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Kartik Kishore, Policy Research Lab, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Nelabh Krishna, Policy Research Lab, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Soubhagya Nanda, Policy Research Lab, Jindal School of Government and Public Policy, O.P. Jindal Global University, Sonipat, Haryana, India.
Summary
One of the defining features of the 21st century is the digital revolution. Social media forms an indispensable part of information dissemination in the digitally connected world. There has been an almost 70 percent rise in social media users in India during the pandemic, mainly the youth population. Facebook and Instagram have 97.2 million and 69 million users respectively from this age group in India alone.
The latest data shows that India has over 290 million social media users all across the country, in all age groups, and across various digital platforms. However, the primary use of social media for India’s youth has remained a point of contention in all spheres.
The Influence of Social Media on the Youth
Social media has a great capacity to inspire individuals in taking both positive and negative action. After the Arab Spring, often referred to as the “Facebook Revolution” or “Twitter Uprising”, academics, journalists and others are trying to discover the true purpose of social media.
The availability of news and information on social media has reduced the “information asymmetry” among people. This flow of information has transformed into people’s power with which they seek greater change.
According to data collated by Statista in 2021, about 31 percent of all Indians using social media are teenagers or young adults between the ages of 13 and 19 years. Given the pervasiveness of social media in today’s world where it is increasingly being used by the youth, the purpose of this study was to understand the role social media is playing for the educated youth in India.
Published in: The Quint
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