Media activism and social change

When we talk about ‘media activism’ then it requires how many people are using different media and what are these media. According to the online report of BBC, more than 107 million copies of newspapers were circulated daily across India in 2009, according to the World Association of Newspapers, and it's estimated that one in every five daily newspapers in the world is published in the country and India is one of the world's largest
television markets.

According to the Encyclopedia of the Nations' online report, India has 374 radio broadcast stations. When we emphasize on the digital media, almost 40% of the world’s population are having internet connection. In 1995, it was less than 1% but in 2005 it has reached billions.

There are 205 million internet users in India that the Internet and Mobile Association of India (IMAI) reports for India who are not all active users (those who use the internet at least once a month). "There is every reason to believe that they will turn into active users in the near future," says Nilotpal Chakravarti, associate vice-president, IMAI.

Now, India is also becoming ‘Digital India’ with the aim to confirm the government services to be available to the citizens electronically by reducing paperwork and also planning to connect the rural areas with the high-speed internet networks.

With the concept of Digital India, media activism leads the campaigns and causes in all the digital arena of India quickly. Internet access is more feasible in terms of its cheap cost and easy availability due to which society has also become very inclusive in nature.


Therefore, whatever happens on internet, affects the society which leads to the social changes. The loophole of such media activism is that it only comes in handy with the internet user and India, being a developing country, has limited internet users. The question arises here, that what about the rest of the population who do not have internet access and digital literacy.

But we can't deny the fact that media activism (social media activism) has great impact on several social changes as for the “India Against Corruption Movement”, P&G's “Padhega India, Badhega India”, Nirbhaya Gang Rape Case etc.

These movements are taking the full support of digital media in the favor of the citizens or netizens. The notified loopholes remaining in these campaigns have not been served properly without thinking about the digital divide. But it is needed to narrow down the 'Digital Divide' and to find out the solution issues related with it.

-Sonali