Exploring the Motivations for Social Media Use among Tribal Women in North Gujarat: A Sociological Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.16417367Keywords:
north gujarat, tribal women, women empowerment, social media, sociological perspectiveAbstract
In recent years, the reach of digital technology has extended into India’s most remote and socio-economically disadvantaged regions. Among the key demographic groups entering the digital fold are tribal women, whose engagement with platforms like WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube represents a significant shift in patterns of communication, knowledge access, and identity formation (Gurumurthy & Chami, 2014). However, despite the growing relevance of this trend, scholarly attention to the motivations behind their social media usage remains limited.
Social media, as framed by Castells (2011), is a powerful agent of social change, enabling new forms of networked individualism and collective identity. For tribal women in North Gujarat—historically excluded from mainstream educational and economic systems—the mobile phone and internet offer not only connection but also a sense of visibility and voice (Sundar, 2020). Their motivations for engaging with social media are deeply embedded in their socio-cultural realities, encompassing a desire for inclusion, expression, learning, and economic participation.
From a sociological perspective, the use of social media among tribal women is not merely a digital phenomenon but also a reflection of broader structural shifts in gender roles, rural development, and technological penetration (Jain & Kurane, 2018). Whether as learners, entrepreneurs, homemakers, or activists, tribal women are finding in social media a space for identity negotiation and aspiration formation.
This paper seeks to explore these motivations through a sociological lens, emphasizing how intersecting factors such as caste, tribe, gender, class, and location mediate digital behavior. By focusing on tribal women in North Gujarat, the study contributes to the evolving discourse on technology and society, offering insight into how social media is reshaping lived experiences on the periphery.
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References
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Copyright (c) 2025 Dhanula Anjli Dharmendrakumar, Amarjeet Kumar
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