MNM-011

Understanding
Indira Gandhi National Open University
School of Journalism and New Media Studies Digital Media
 MNM-011
UNDERSTANDING
Indira Gandhi National Open University
School of Journalism and New Media Studies
DIGITAL MEDIA

BLOCK 1
New Media and Society 9
BLOCK 2
Social Media in Indian Scenario 85
BLOCK 3
India’s Experience with the Internet 157
BLOCK 4
ICT for Development 225
EXPERTS COMMITTEE
Prof. B.P. Sanjay, Former Prof. J.S. Yadav, Former Prof. B.K. Kuthiala, Former VC,
VC, CUTN; PVC, Univ. of Director, IIMC, New Delhi MLCRPV, Bhopal
Hyderabad, Hyderabad
Prof. G. Ravindran, Head, Prof. Kiran Thakur, Prof. Usha Raman, S. N. School
Department of Communication, Former Head, Deptt. of of Arts & Communication,
University of Madras, Chennai Communication & Journalism, University of Hyderabad,
Savitribai Phule Pune Hyderabad
University, Pune
Mr. Shastri Ramachandran, Prof. Iftekhar Ahmed, Director, Prof. Jaishri Jethwaney, Former
Editor and Columnist, New MCRC, Jamia Milia Islamia, Head, ADPR, IIMC, New Delhi
Delhi New Delhi
Prof. Usha Rani, Former Head, Ms Sevanti Ninan, Senior Ms Pamela Philipose, Senior
Deptt. of Comm.& Journalism, Journalist & Founder Editor, Journalist and Author, New Delhi
Mysore University The Hoot, New Delhi
Ms Mahalakshmi Jayaram. Prof. Biswajit Das, Director, Prof. Gita Bamezai, Head Dept.
Senior Dy. Editor, The Hindu, CCMG, Jamia Milia Islamia, of Comm. Research, IIMC New
Chennai New Delhi Delhi
Dr. Vipul Mudgal, Senior Prof. Madhu Parhar Mr. K. Ravikanth
Journalist Director, STRIDE, IGNOU Director, EMPC, IGNOU
and Author, New Delhi
Prof. Subhash Dhuliya, Former Prof. Shambhu Nath Singh, Dr. O. P. Dewal, Associate
Director, SOJNMS, IGNOU Former Director, SOJNMS, Professor, SOJNMS, IGNOU
IGNOU
Dr. Kiron Bansal, Associate Dr. K.S. Arul Selvan, Dr. Ramesh Yadav, Assistant
Professor, SOJNMS, IGNOU Associate Professor, SOJNMS, Professor, SOJNMS, IGNOU
IGNOU
Dr. Shikha Rai, Assistant Dr. Amit Kumar, Assistant Ms. Padmini Jain, Assistant
Professor, SOJNMS, IGNOU Professor, SOJNMS, IGNOU Professor, SOJNMS, IGNOU

PROGRAMME COORDINATOR: Dr. K.S. Arul Selvan

BLOCK PREPARATION TEAM
Unit 1: Dr. K.S. Arul Selvan Unit 3: Dr. Balwant Mehta Language Editor:
Associate Professor Fellow Dr. Usha Chandar
SOJNMS, IGNOU, New Delhi Institute for Human Research Officer,
Development New Delhi SOJNMS IGNOU,
New Delhi
Unit 2: Dr. K.S. Arul Selvan Unit 4: Dr. Aakanksha Sharma Block Editor:
Associate Professor Programme Associate Dr. K.S. Arul Selvan
SOJNMS, IGNOU, InterNews Associate Professor
New Delhi & New Delhi SOJNMS, IGNOU
Aakriti Taneja New Delhi
SOJNMS, IGNOU, New Delhi

BLOCK PREPARATION TEAM

Unit 5: Dr. Abhay Chawla Unit 7 & 8: Dr. Surhit Basu Language Editor:
Faculty of Communication Assistant Professor Dr. Usha Chandar
Studies Department of Research Officer,
I P University Journalism & Mass SOJNMS
New Delhi Communication IGNOU, New Delhi
Women’s College,
Calcutta
Unit 6: Dr. Sujeet Kumar Block Editor:
Assistant Professor Dr. K.S. Arul Selvan
Center for Mass Associate Professor
Communication and Media SOJNMS, IGNOU
Central University of Bihar, New Delhi
Gaya
 BLOCK PREPARATION TEAM
Unit 9: Dr. Rachna Sharma Unit 11: Dr. Sudarshan Language Editor:
Assistant Professor Yadav Dr. Usha Chandar
Department of Journalism Assistant Professor Research Officer,
Lady Shri Ram College for Centre for Mass SOJNMS
Women Communication, IGNOU, New Delhi
University of Delhi, Central University
New Delhi of Jharkhand,
Ranchi, Jharkhand
Unit 10: Dr. Alankar Kaushik Unit 12: Dr. Navodita Block Editor:
Assistant Professor Pandey Independent Dr. K.S. Arul Selvan
Department of Journalism Research Associate Professor
and Mass Communication Kanpur, UP SOJNMS, IGNOU
EFL University, Shillong New Delhi
Campus &
Aakriti Taneja
SOJNMS, IGNOU,
New Delhi

BLOCK PREPARATION TEAM

Unit 13: Dr. Poonam Gaur Unit 15: SOSS, IGNOU Language Editor:
Assistant Professor Dr. Usha Chandar
Department of Research Officer,
Communication SOJNMS
Amity University IGNOU, New Delhi
Noida
Unit 14: Dr. K.S. Arul Selvan Unit 16: Dr. Sreekala G Block Editor:
Associate Professor Freelance Journalist Dr. K.S. Arul Selvan
SOJNMS, IGNOU, Hyderabad Associate Professor
New Delhi SOJNMS, IGNOU
& Aruna K C New Delhi
SOJNMS, IGNOU,
New Delhi

PRINT PRODUCTION
Mr. Tilak Raj Ms. Sumathy Nair
Assistant Registrar Assistant Registrar
MPDD, IGNOU, New Delhi MPDD, IGNOU, New Delhi

January, 2022
© Indira Gandhi National Open University, 2022
ISBN : 978-93-5568-322-9
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 Course Contents

BLOCK 1 NEW MEDIA AND SOCIETY 9

UNIT 1 Internet as a Medium 13

UNIT 2 Digital Media and Society 29

UNIT 3 Issues of Access and Participation 49
UNIT 4 Policy Frameworks and Regulations 69

BLOCK 2 SOCIAL MEDIA IN INDIAN SCENARIO 85

UNIT 5 Spectrum of Social Media 89

UNIT 6 Online News Sharing 107
UNIT 7 Social Media Audience 121
UNIT 8 Applications of Social Media 141

BLOCK 3 INDIA’S EXPERIENCE WITH THE

INTERNET 157

UNIT 9 Internet and Marginalised Sections 161

UNIT 10 Participatory Online Media 175
UNIT 11 Online Activism 193
UNIT 12 Democracy and Digital Media 209

BLOCK 4 ICT FOR DEVELOPMENT 225

UNIT 13 ICT for Education 229

UNIT 14 Health and ICT 243
UNIT 15 E-Governance 261
UNIT 16 Entrepreneurship and Digital Media 275
COURSE INTRODUCTION:
UNDERSTANDING DIGITAL MEDIA
The invention of ‘network of networks’ has created one of the mega
communication platforms in human history. A paradigm shift is being
witnessed in the way in which we communicate in our day-to-day life.
Besides that, cyberspace, which operates on the Internet platform, provides
a plethora of opportunities and services that have made massive changes
in the way in which normal social institutions function. More importantly,
society-wide communications have changed from the institution-oriented
mass delivery system into individual-based interaction and information
exchanges. The information in the webpage or social media account
transcends national boundaries and has a global reach. These unique features
of digital media are the focus areas of this Course.
This Course MNM-011 - UNDERSTANDING DIGITAL MEDIA is
designed to orient learners in four broad areas - the relationship between
digital media and society, the significance of social media, tracing
experiences of the Internet in the Indian context and the application side
of the digital media. The whole course is divided into four Blocks. The
16 Units in this Course covers the main concepts of new media and social
media, as well as experiences and application side of the digital media.
Block 1 - New Media and Society focuses on the relationship between
the Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based media
with various social institutions. Unit 1 gives an overview of computer-
mediated communication and online communities—various dimensions
of human interactions through computing gadgets. Unit 2 traces the recent
developments in the digital media spaces, particularly from the Indian
perspective alongwith theories of digital media, medium-specific trends,
and recent issues with digital media. Unit 3 gives a detailed account of
the origin and diffusion of ICT based technologies in the Indian context.
Along side it explores the digital inequalities from theoretical perspective
and also the various efforts being taken by different agencies to bridge the
gap between the various levels of digital inequalities. Unit 4 deals with the
policy and regulations in the Indian scenario. As the digital media is not
specific to any geographical boundary, it pose a challenge to the regulatory
bodies to govern the global medium within the national frameworks.
Block 2 - Social Media in Indian Scenario explains the emerging
phenomenon of the digital media and the more powerful - Social Media.
Unit 5 explores the broad spectrum of social media - its characteristics,
types, and history of social media. Unit 6 describes how social media is
being used extensively by its users to share various information, particularly
news. Sharing information is the primary activity of social media users.
Unit 7 describes the characteristics of social media audiences, mainly
connecting the existing knowledge of media audiences with social media
users. Unit 8 is a continuation of social media audience segments, and here
this Unit explores the application side of social media in the areas of politics,
governance, education as well as the socio-cultural angle.
Block 3 - India’s Experiences with the Internet, elaborates on the social
significance of the digital media. Unit 9 describes the potential of interactivity
of digital media to represent all sections of the society. This Unit deals with
the issues that challenge the representation of marginalised sections of the
society. Unit 10 elaborates on the Participatory Culture, which gives a broad
overview of the new media literacy skills and competencies, that enables
better understanding for young people to interact with the medium. Unit 11
explains the potentiality of the digital media for collective efforts for any
kind of social and political change. How social movements are using digital
media for their campaign and describe strategies adopted to mobilise people
for a social cause. Unit 12 deals with the participation and engagement of
digital media users for direct and indirect political activities in order to be
part of the national or regional democratic processes.
Block 4 - ICT for Development traces the application side of digital media
for various social purposes. Unit 13 describes the pedagogical benefits of
digital media and the importance of ICT for teaching and learning purposes.
Unit 14 explains the utilisation of ICT for the health sector - mainly from
the institutional point of view as well as how an individual can reap the
benefits of health information from the digital media. Unit 15 dwells on
the characteristics of e-governance, its stages of adoption of ICT tools
for the effective use of technology for delivery of services and models of
e-governance. Unit 16 describes the potentials of using digital platforms
for entrepreneurial efforts, more specifically in the areas of media and
communication fields.
 MNM-011
UNDERSTANDING
Indira Gandhi National Open University DIGITAL MEDIA
School of Journalism and New Media Studies

BLOCK

1
NEW MEDIA AND SOCIETY
Unit 1 : Internet as a Medium 13
Unit 2 : Digital Media and Society 29
Unit 3 : Issues of Access and Participation 49
Unit 4 : Policy Frameworks and Regulations 69
BLOCK INTRODUCTION: NEW MEDIA
AND SOCIETY
This is the first block of Course MNM011: Understanding Digital
Media. There are four Units in this block covering the basic fundamentals
of the medium which operates through the Internet and exist through the
World Wide Web. Cyberspace is a communication platform that facilitates
information exchanges between a wide variety of users. These users utilise
the computer-mediated communication process to exchange information
with the help of available media elements such as the text, photograph,
audio and video modes. With the advent of mobile and standalone mobile
applications, the World Wide Web is slowly becoming redundant and the
phrase computer-mediated communication expands its coverage to include
digital gadgets based communication interactions. This Block is primarily
intended to introduce the conceptual orientation of the digital medium,
its main characteristics, its roles and association in the social setup, the
diffusion of ICT infrastructure and also how this medium is being regulated.
Unit 1: Internet as a Medium describes the complex structure of cyberspace,
that is a platform through which internet-based communication takes place
between users for various purposes. There are multiple opportunities for
users to communicate via computers or mobile gadgets between one to
one, or one to many or many to many or many to one. The speciality with
this medium is that one medium can be used for personal purposes as well
as for public communication exchanges as depending on the situation and
context the role changes. Here in cyberspace, all the users have equal access
to information at the same time, they have the capability to participate in
the information exchanges. Interestingly all the communication through
cyberspace is by default reaches every nook and corner of the globe,
transcending multiple boundaries. Users can assemble in one place based
on their interest, cutting across their geographical locations and time, and
form online communities to interact and exchange information on a given
topic/interested areas. In this Unit, you will explore all such scenarios with
the inputs coming from various scholarly resources.
Unit 2: Digital Media and Society In our programme, we have a course on
Media, Information and Empowerment (MNM013), where in we have learnt
about the relationship and role of media with the various social processes.
Similar to that, in this Unit, you will learn about the relationship between
the digital media and social, cultural, political and economical realms of
the society. The information exchanges through cyberspace also produce
unique relationships and consequences that you will learn in this Unit with
the help of multiple theoretical perspectives.
Unit 3: Issues of Access and Participation explains the processes involved
in the Information and Communication Technology and its infrastructure
diffusion through the Indian social context. Every communication medium
needs infrastructure and platform to operationalise the information
exchanges. Here in the digital medium it is based on technology, more
complex advanced set of gadgets, technological skills and competencies are
required. Hence the varying social and economic background creates a gap
11
 while adapting to this technology-based communication platform. This gap
is being referred to as digital inequality. The same has been initially termed
as digital divide - the binary between those who are having access to the
digital medium and those who are not having access to it. In this Unit, you
will learn about the diffusion of ICTs both in Indian context as well as from
the global perspective. Also conceptual details on digital inequality, efforts
taken to bridge the gap between the ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’ from the Indian
experiences are given in a detailed manner.
Unit 4: Policy Framework and Regulation gives a detailed description
of the massive expansion of the Internet and mobile users in the Indian
context, the various services provided through this medium, and the agencies
involved in establishing between IT infrastructure. And more importantly
it describes how this medium is being regulated through various policies,
regulations and laws. Right from the National Telecom Policy of 1994 till
National Digital Communications Policy of 2018, this Unit traces the policy
guidelines as well as targets which need to be achieved in the IT as well as
ICT sectors by 2022.
Through Block 1, you will be able to understand the medium-specific
characteristics, its relationships and influences in social, cultural, political
and economic realms of the Indian society, the challenges and opportunities
of diffusion of ICT from Indian perspective and efforts by various agencies to
regulate this global medium in the Indian context. With this understandings,
you will be able to gauge and critically evaluate the relationship between
new media and Indian society.

12
 UNIT 1 : INTERNET AS A MEDIUM
Structure
1.0 Introduction
1.1 Learning Outcomes
1.2 Internet as a Medium of Communication
1.2.1 Conceptual Framework of Cyberspace
1.2.2 Functional Dimensions of Cyberspace
1.2.3 Characteristics of Cyberspace
1.3 Types of Internet-Based Communication
1.3.1 Dynamics of Communication Process in CMC
1.3.2 Cohesive Force of Online Group Communication
1.4 Forms of Computer-Mediated Communication
1.4.1 Impersonal CMC
1.4.2 Interpersonal CMC
1.4.3 Hyperpersonal CMC
1.5 Virtual Communities
1.6 Let Us Sum Up
1.7 Keywords
1.8 Further Readings
1.9 Check Your Progress: Possible Answers

1.0 INTRODUCTION
In the first year, you have learnt characteristics of various mass media entities
such as the newspaper, radio, television, etc. In the case of newspapers, it
has a limited lifecycle, and there is a geographical boundary in terms of
its physical reach to its intended readers. Similarly, the electronic media -
radio and television - have their limitations of reach of satellite footprints.
However, the electronic media is better placed, as compared to the print
media. On the other hand, we now have a medium that transcends all these
boundaries and limitations along with a worldwide reach and irrespective
of geopolitical governance. The Internet as a medium is emerging as
a dominant one in the mass media milieu. Interestingly, the Internet has
multiple dimensions - you can use it for your personal interactions as well
as for professional tasks.
Every mass media needs a channel and a medium. The channel is the carrier
while the medium facilitates the communication exchange process. In the
case of the newspaper - print is the channel and news stories of newspapers
are the medium, in electronic media - electronic waves are channels, and
programmes of electronic media are its medium. Similarly, bandwidth and
broadband are channels for the Internet, and information pockets are its
medium.
13
New Media and Society In this Unit, you will learn about the concept of cyberspace, and the basic
structure of the Internet through which all the digital/online communication
process occurs and computer-mediated communication - a term used for the
types of communication associated with the Internet-based communication.
One of the unique qualities of Internet communication is its ability to gather
several users into specific areas - not physically, but gatherings are based
on common interest. Such gatherings are called virtual communities. You
will learn about the multiple communication dimensions of the Internet in
this Unit.

1.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES

After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
●● understand the complex structure of cyberspace;
●● explain the different forms of computer-mediated communication;
●● state diverse patterns of Internet-based communication; and
●● discuss the various dimensions of virtual/online communities.

1.2 INTERNET AS A MEDIUM OF COMMUNICATION

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) has given us a powerful
communication tool through which we can merge many of our information
and dissemination needs. About two decades back, we had only the
mainstream media outlets for our society-wide communication purposes,
which are still mostly vertical, i.e. we receive the messages in a top-down
model and in which we have limited options of participation. The ICT
platform has revolutionised the way we communicate with one another as
well as with society at large. Theoretically, we can call this platform as
cyberspace, and it includes all dimensions of digital and online media and
its platforms. Cyberspace provides a horizontal model of communication,
and there is no hierarchy between the users. Every user can access the
information, and at the same time, each user has the facility to communicate,
not just with friends or relatives or colleagues, but to the entire globe. Such
titanic changes in our communication platforms need to be understood
academically.
1.2.1 Conceptual Framework of Cyberspace
Through computer or mobile, we usually immerse ourselves in various
activities, and the platform through which we are working and interacting
is called cyberspace. This term is not a new one. It was coined way back in
1984 by the science fiction writer William Gibson in his novel Neuromancer.
While explaining the new term cyberspace, Gibson stated that “A consensual
hallucination…a graphic representation of data abstracted from the back of
every computer in the human system. Unthinkable complexity lines of light
ranged in the non-space of the mind, clusters, and constellations of data.
Like city lights receding.” We will see yet another definition from a famous
scholar and pioneer in online communities studies, Harold Rheingold.
Rheingold’s (1995) definition of cyberspace is “Conceptual space where
words, human relationships, data, wealth, and power are manifested by
people using CMC (Computer-mediated Communication) technology.”
14
The tools of ICT has created a platform for billions of people to gather Internet as a Medium
and interact with each other. The core characteristics of fruitful interactions
between humans are the primary component of cyberspace. One of the
earlier scholars of cyberspace, Loader (1997) explains its unique features.
He lists its characteristics as follows: “A computer-generated public
domain which has no territorial boundaries or physical attributes and is
in perpetual use. To date, its most potent manifestation is that matrix of
electronic telecommunication and computer networks, usually referred to
as the Internet, which links millions of people globally which is growing at
a rapid rate daily and is taking new shape and direction as a consequence
of the voluntary actions of its participants, and it is claimed that is not
controlled by any single authority.”
Communication through cyberspace is an extension of offline human-to-
human interactions. We leave our physical presence, and we take different
avatars in the online space. All these interactions are performed in the ICT
enabled and simulated environment.
In the virtual space, people still meet face-to-face but under new definitions
of “meet” and “face.” The cyber platform is the passage where physically
separated people are bound together by common beliefs and practices.
The essential element in cyberspatial social relations is the sharing of
information. It is not sharing in the sense of transmission of information but
binding communities in cyberspace. It is the ritual of information sharing
that pulls it together.
Rather than incidental meetings, collective and common interest fuels the
process of communication in cyberspace. Even before the invention of the
Internet, Licklider and Taylor (1968) predicted that: “In most fields, they will
consist of geographically separated members, sometimes grouped in small
clusters, and sometimes working individually. There will be communities
not of common location, but of common interest. In each geographical
sector, the total number of users will be large enough to support extensive
general-purpose information processing and storage facilities. Life will be
happier for the individual who is in online because the people with whom
he/she interacts most strangely will be selected more by the commonality of
interests and goals than by accidents of proximity.”
Interactivity is an important element of new media. It eliminates the time
barrier for a user to access the contents conveniently anytime anywhere.
The time-shifting facility enhances a user’s involvement in the online
environment, and time becomes a crucial factor here. The virtual platform
offers not only a multitude of topic areas but also the ability to participate
at a convenient time. There is no weekly meeting to catch up after work.
The meetings happen whenever the users have time to log in and read
the new postings. This time-shifting allows users time to ponder upon a
particularly serious posting or article and write a coherent response. People
from many time zones can participate in a discussion, and they have more
control over their online experience, which allows them to participate at
their convenience.
1.2.2 Functional Dimensions of Cyberspace
Cyberspace guarantees users the freedom to move along with the medium,
which has dimensionality, continuity, curvature, density, and limits. It is a
15
New Media and Society socially constructed and reconstructed space and essentially a re-conceived
public sphere for social, political, economic, and cultural interaction.
Cyberspace provides a new arena for public life in which a user can adopt
any meaningful role like an author, public rhetorician, statesman, and pundit,
which is uncommon in the mass communication process. In cyberspace, says
Benedikt (1991), “The common man and the information worker-cowboy or
infocrat – can search, manipulate, create or control information directly; he
can be entertained or trained, seek solitude or company, win or lose power
indeed, can “live” or “die” as he will.” Cyberspace has two dimensions
concerning the openness of its communication activity. It is “public space,
at the same time it is private also,” contends Fernback (1997), “where via
email, two users can argue politics or fall in love, or several users on a
private list server can strategise a meeting or discuss the finer points of a
classroom lecture.”
The CMC users’relationships can range from the cold, professional encounter,
to the hot, intimate rendezvous. Rheingold (1995), while describing routine
activities of this medium says a user can “Exchange pleasantries and argue,
engage in intellectual discourse, conduct commerce, exchange knowledge,
share emotional support, make plans, brainstorm, gossip, feud, fall in love,
find friends and lose them, play games, flirt, create a little high art and even
engaged in a lot of idle talks. People … do just about everything people
do in real life, but we leave our bodies behind. You cannot kiss anybody,
and nobody can punch you in the nose, but a lot can happen within those
boundaries. To the millions who have been drawn into it, the richness and
vitality of computer-linked cultures are attractive, even addictive.”
The cyberspace is a multi-faceted environment where one can find
immensely varied, amalgamated, and combined social relations. Fernback
(1997) gives a detailed account on the inner view of cyberspace: “It is
a repository for collective memory - it is popular culture, it is narrative
created by its inhabitants that remind us who we are, it is life as lived and
reproduced in pixels and virtual texts. It is sacred and profane, and it is
workspace and leisure space, it is a battleground and a nirvana, it is real, and
it is virtual, it is ontological and phenomenological. Cyberspace is an arena
of power; CMC users act every day on the assumption that the tyranny of
geography can be overcome within cyberspace. It is smaller, more intimate,
and almost more imaginable than “the public,” which can no longer fit into
a stadium.”
The revolution in global networked communications has given rise to a new
generation of social technologies, including mechanisms for the formation
and cultivation of interpersonal relationships. The global reach of the
Internet not only facilitates communication among members of existing
distributed groups and teams but also provides a medium for the formation
and cultivation of new relationships by providing virtually instantaneous
access to thousands of potential contacts that have compatible interests and
spheres of expertise.
The urbanisation and industrialisation have resulted in a mass society in
the urban context where the social relationship is highly fragmented.
CMC is acting like a new cohesive force to build an online relationship.
As Jones (1998) argues, “CMC allows us to customise our social contacts
16
from fragmented communities and to plan, organise and make efficient and Internet as a Medium
social contacts.” Linda Harasm (1993) found that social communication is a
primary component of CMC and is well able to organise thoughts about the
use of CMC around social situations, rather than working areas.
Even though CMC facilitates tremendous information exchange power, it
has its inadequacies. One prominent negative feature, cited by most CMC
scholars, is that CMC occurs in cyberspace mostly with letters and words.
This textual communication filters out demographic and socio-economic
information about the user, such as sex and social status, which also limits
relational meaning.
1.2.3 Characteristics of Cyberspace
In comparison with face-to-face communication, which is considered as the
communication standard against which all others are found to be inferior, a
CMC user cannot hear intonation that signals a joke or see puzzled expressions
that convey confusion. Also, users often face problems in coordinating
informal discussions owing to the lack of information feedback, the absence
of social influence cues, and depersonalisation due to the lack of non-verbal
involvement. Research on spoken conversational interaction shows that
simultaneous feedback plays a vital role in signalling listenership, timing
turn-taking effectively, and maintaining continuous interaction. Also,
the absence of simultaneous feedback may result in discontinuity and/or
overlap within turn sequences, as well as generally making it more difficult
for message producers to tailor their messages to respond to recipients’
interests and needs. When the relevant responses disrupt, CMC users may
experience difficulty in tracking sequential exchanges, and as a result, the
interaction may become fragmented.
To theorise this impersonal communication pattern in 1987, Culnan and
Markus described it as the “cues filtered out” theory (also called “reduced
cues”), which posits that the computer has a “low social presence” because
it filters out important aspects of communication that participants in face-
to-face communication are privy to (paralanguage, pitch, stress, tempo,
volume), leaving a conversation in a “social vacuum.”
Ried (1991) exposes the failings of CMC in this regard as follows: “Words,
as we use them in speech, fail to express what they really mean once they
are deprived of the subtleties of speech and the non-verbal cues that we
assume will accompany it. It is only the meanings of sentences that become
problematic in computer-mediated communication. The standards of
behaviour that are normally decided upon by verbal-users are not clearly
indicated when information is purely textual.”
To take this argument further, Mackinnon (1995) states how CMC
inadequacies overwhelm its success in comparison with offline world social
structure. “Lacking physical reality, [CMC] users must create an explicit
written language to convey meaning as well as emotion, physical qualities,
and action. As a society based on language, it relies heavily on symbols,
analogy, and metaphor to recreate or transfer physical matter and actions
from the external world. But as these recreations are merely metaphors for,
or “analogues” of, their physical counterparts, [CMC] can never be a mirror
image of the external world.”
17
New Media and Society Another striking feature of networked CMC environments is the anonymity
crisis. A user potentially enjoys opportunities to conceal his/her real
offline identity in the online world. In comparison with other forms of
communication, participants of CMC have substantially more control over
their self-presentation. In face-to-face communication, each person involved
in the communication process confronts the other, and obviously, they
reveal their identities. In a telephonic mobile conversation, the speaker’s
gender, to some extent their age, and emotional reactions like fear, anxiety,
happiness, and tonal difference help to gauge varied qualities of semiotic
reference to a speaker’s message framework.
Nevertheless, in the CMC, the textual form of message sharing bears a bare
minimal imprint of social identities. The online message has the potential
to confuse identity, which is counterproductive to those arguing that the
content of messages reveals much about the nature of speakers (Lee, 1997).
The use of false identities, often of different sex, is widespread in electronic
communities. Rheingold’s (1995) comparison of the offline and online
world is an apt example. “The physical world is a place where the identity
and position of the people you communicate with are well known, fixed,
and highly visual. In cyberspace, everybody is in the dark. We can only
exchange words with each other - no glances or shrugs or ironic smiles.
Even the nuances of voice and intonation are stripped away. On top of the
technology-imposed constraints, we who populate cyberspace deliberately
experiment with fracturing traditional notions of identity by living as
multiple simultaneous personae in different virtual neighbourhoods.”
The anonymity or the lack of clarity, single authorship condition has
marred online-based research to a great extent. A researcher can never be
sure of the demographics of site users, and according to the current level
of technological improvements, there is no possible way to obtain identity
confirmation. Most computer interfaces are either not designed to allow the
user to question data validity or else are designed so anyone may change
that data with a moderate level of technical skill. Until there is a new set
of social norms for validating computer information, there will be some
uneasiness over the trust quotient of computer networks.
Check Your Progress: 1
Note:1) Use the space below for your answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this Unit.
1. Explain the concept of time Shifting with suitable examples.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
2. Write about the pros and cons of cyberspace.
..............................................................................................................
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18
3. Compare and contrast the face-to-face communication with online Internet as a Medium
discussions.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
Activity – 1 Use any internet archives to visit the earlier generation
USENET based online community and observe its past activities. Based
on your observation, write a brief report [400 words].

1.3 TYPES OF INTERNET-BASED COMMUNICATION

The World Wide Web (WWW) has re-arranged the basic tenet of common
person’s communication activities in his/her day-to-day life. Even though
electronic communication is not an alternative to face-to-face (F2F)
communication, Internet technology has considerably overcome the time
and space barriers between two communicating points. Each fabric of social
structure has established a meaningful connection with ICTs, ranging from
e-business, online learning, e-governance, and e-shopping to online social
movements.
The interconnection of multiple components of human society has increased
information flow, cutting across national boundaries towards the creation of
a “global village” predicted by Marshal McLuhan.
A multiplicity of forms and varieties of the communication processes
can be carried out on the Internet with the fastest and cheapest ways and,
more importantly, the widest reach. The telegraph detached the concept
of transportation of communication from one point to another; the Internet
went one step ahead and abolished the middle person to deliver messages
directly and instantaneously. Moreover, it has facilitated the free exchange
of information, unfettered, and unhindered by any censorship, which is
another essential feature. The Internet has a profound impact on the day-to-
day activities of the entire human social spectrum.
In the Internet medium, a user can explore a variety of possibilities
independently. It is an opportunity, as explained by McLaughlin (1995),
“To exchange electronic mail, transfer files, search databases, and retrieve
information from remote libraries, take part in real-time conferences, run
software on distance computers, and participate in discussion groups on
varied topics.”
Computer-mediated communication is one type of communication facilitated
by computer technologies. It is defined as “synchronous or asynchronous
electronic mail and computer conferencing, by which senders encode in
text messages that are relayed from sender’s computers to receivers.” There
are two distinct types of CMCs existing over the computer technologies:
synchronous and asynchronous, and the difference between the two CMCs is
a temporal one. Synchronous CMC is produced when communication occurs
simultaneously between two or more users, as in any normal telephonic or
face-to-face or live video conferencing conversation. Asynchronous CMC
is produced when communication is not simultaneous.

19
New Media and Society The most common and prevalent asynchronous CMC is electronic mail,
in which a user can drop and receive a message at his/her convenience.
Another popular category is social media postings (non-live messages),
where the sender and receiver use a commonplace to read and post
messages. In both cases, time is not a constraint for sending and reading
the messages. On the other hand, in synchronous CMC, both the partners of
the communication process must be available online. One-to-one or group
text/audio/video-based chat/discussion via messenger software are popular
forms of synchronous CMC.
Whether synchronous or asynchronous, “The CMC, it is claimed, will
1. create opportunities for education and learning;
2. create new opportunities for participatory democracy;
3. establish countercultures on an unprecedented scale;
4. ensnarl the already difficult legal matters concerning privacy,
copyright, and ethics; and
5. restructure man and machine interaction” (Jones, 1998).
In the beginning, it was thought that CMC technology would overcome
time and space barriers without having a centralised control authority to
monitor the system. Besides, the universal spread of CMC has provided a
facility to access an unlimited amount of data and reach other people. In
the context of CMC’s capacity to create a global pattern of linkage, Lee
(1997) elaborates its potential power as follows: “The information highway
makes possible unprecedented forms of mediated communications. Never
before have there been a means of communication, which have provided
so many individuals with the ease and ability to engage in instantaneous,
interactive communications with a broad and diverse public. The import
of these new technologies, however, lies not simply in the novel forms
of communication. What is also of profound significance is the ways in
which these communicative possibilities lead to new types of identities and
social relationships. Previously unimaginable, millions of individuals are
increasingly interacting across time and space, and forming mutual bonds
with others, most of whom they neither have met nor will ever meet face-
to-face.”
The Internet, due to its global reach and its rich multilingual context, has
the potential to influence social relations. Unlike the traditional mass media,
the online medium has an open architecture that restricts the efforts of legal
authorities to regulate its activities. This, in turn, has facilitated greater
freedom and space to its users and members to express their feelings on the
net on issues that interest them. Thus, the Internet provides a technological
infrastructure for CMC across both time and space, to create a group
communication environment in which a form of virtual co-presence is
established as a result of an individual’s online interactions. This has created
a potential platform for virtual communities to flourish on the net. However,
interconnected computers do not by themselves provide a congenial space
for a group of people to float an online community in cyberspace; it is
necessary to have sufficient human relationships.

20
1.3.1 Dynamics of Communication Process in CMC Internet as a Medium

Irrespective of its modality of presence, online or online overlapping with

offline, any meaningful discussion in the CMC forum is determined by the
quality of communication and its message. The very nature of CMC has
abolished social and cultural domination in group dynamics. The computer
medium inhibits users from transferring the social structures to CMC, and
this inhibition is the result of the absence of, or limitations on physical
proximity, face-to-face interaction, and non-verbal use.
People who are strong in articulation skills rather than social status play
a dominant role in the text-based community. While analysing the social
role of CMC technologies, Jones (1998) indicates two prominent usages:
“Computers cut across or break down boundaries and break down
hierarchies.” Similarly, Perrolle (1991) outlines the power and status
structure of the communication process in the CMC milieu: “Computer-
mediated communication changes the nature of conversations between
people. Research indicates that it alters the social norms governing
conversation by removing elements of emotion and social control. It also
provides the possibility of equal participation by obscuring the visual and
verbal distinctions of status that gives high-ranking or aggressive people
an advantage in face-to-face speech. Designs for cooperative work seek
computer network support for circumstances in which opportunities for
participation are enhanced, and opportunities for one speaker to control
another are reduced. But computer-mediated communication can also
embody inequalities in social relationships and can limit conversational
participation.”
Factors like power and social status do not have any meaningful role in
online activities. The virtual space in which people meet is neutral ground.
Cyberspace belongs to everyone, yet no one. The conversation is the primary
activity there, but it favours people good with their words rather than just
fast with their mouths. The conversation is often much more thought out,
and it is easier for everyone to express their opinion and not be dominated
by one or two loud people. In an online community, every participant is in
charge of his/her involvement. Online communities are entirely participant-
driven, and the conversation is about what a member has written.
A group of human beings settled in a new environment tend to formulate
norms and values for the smooth conduct of the social processes of their
new community. Likewise, in the online environment, virtual members also
establish their own group-specific rules. Participants in CMC develop forms
of expression that enable them to communicate social information and to
create and codify group-specific meanings. Conformity with created norms
also serves to socially negotiate group-specific identities, form relationships
and organise interaction, and to maintain desirable social climates. In CMC,
as in real life, relationships take time to build. The social information not
available in the immediacy of face-to-face context can be gained verbally
through computer-mediated interaction; the social penetration process just
takes longer. People who meet online may then take that relationship offline
if an opportunity arises.
21
New Media and Society There could be several reasons for a member to be associated with a virtual
world. The loss of casual gathering places in our lives is one of the reasons
as to why many people have turned to virtual spaces in which they can
achieve some feeling of community. The virtual environment serves to
fulfil a unique need for many people that they cannot find elsewhere in
their lives. Although a multitude of special interest groups exists in the
physical community, there is not always a forum located nearby to discuss
the particular topic in which each person is interested. Virtual platforms
provide a forum for such discussions.
There is no topic under the sun left aside by these communities. Due to its
worldwide reach, a group of enthusiasts joins together to stay abreast of the
latest developments in their area of choice by having meaningful discussions
on the digital forums. If the area of discussion is important and sensitive, in
which a cross-section of human society has a sentimental touch, it corners
massive attention from a relatively large number of members.
1.3.2 Cohesive Force of Online Group Communication
In the cyberspace area, people can roam freely and can create their virtual
community that is far from the legal and nation-state purview. It comprises
members distributed in all 24 time zones, who are equal in all possible
social spheres in terms of shared belief, in the principles of free speech,
individualism, equality, and open access.
Ananda Mitra (1997) applies theoretical concepts of offline community
to online communities and states that the online community setup has a
profound impact on the way we interact and the way we are going to interact
with one another. Further, he adds that “In the electronic age, particularly
in the age of the Internet, the organisation of human activities has become
more complex with the availability of fast, efficient, and powerful means of
communication that can have a significant impact on the way we organise
the communities we live in and interact with. Moreover, that effect need
not be restricted to specific geographic spaces but can be widespread as
the tentacles of computer-mediated communication (CMC) reach across the
globe.”
With this background information about the community and its set of
rules that govern people’s interaction, it is clear that replication of existing
offline cannons does not apply to virtual communities. At the same time, it
is important to note that the emergence of online communities based on a
different set of principles does not also occur in a social vacuum.
Check Your Progress: 2
Note:1) Use the space below for your answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this Unit.
1. Differentiate the communication process between synchronous and
asynchronous modes of online interactions.
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..............................................................................................................
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22
2. Differentiate the basic features of an online community with the Internet as a Medium
offline community.
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Activity – 2 Enroll yourself in an online community that exists through
any popular social media platform. Observe its activities for a fortnight,
give your assessment - that should reflect your understanding of the
theoretical concepts [400 words].

1.4 FORMS OF COMPUTER-MEDIATED

COMMUNICATION
One of the classic studies in the area of CMC was done by Joseph Walther
(1996, 2015), in which he classified three types of CMC - 1] Impersonal
CMC; 2] Interpersonal CMC, and 3] Hyper-personal CMC. These three-
forms of CMCs show the historical growth of research and understanding
about the human relationship through computer-mediated interactions. The
advent of technology has played an equally significant role in shaping and
theorising human relationships through CMC.
1.4.1 Impersonal CMC
In the early stages of CMC, around the early 90s in the last century,
available technologies mostly allowed rich-text based communications
between people, like emails, text chat, and Usenet groups. Many early-stage
research findings discussed the scenario of ‘scant social information’ and its
implications in computer-mediated human communications in which non-
verbal cues are minimal if not absent. However, many early-stage findings
argued that in the impersonal CMC, the group tasks had better achievement
rates due to lack of space in establishing social power structure in the textual
CMC. However, in further research findings, the impersonal CMC concept
was challenged in multiple dimensions.
1.4.2 Interpersonal CMC
The interpersonal CMC mainly equates the online discussion with the face
to face communication settings. In interpersonal CMC, all efforts used
by the participants of CMC to replicate the f2f settings, and various cues
commonly adapted in interpersonal CMC (smileys are some of the adapted
cues in interpersonal CMC). Since the efforts are employed to equate to
f2f, normally interpersonal CMC requires more time to meet the expected
outcome of communication settings.
1.4.3 Hyper-personal CMC
In the hyper-personal CMC environment, each stage of communication
tools - sender, channel, receiver, and feedback - are employed carefully
and optimally, more importantly, selective self-presentation in order to
create an idealised perspective about the sender by the receiver. Since the
communication between the participants is in a continuous process, sender-
channel-receiver-feedback is conducted continuously in order to maintain
the idealised perspectives and impressions of each other.

23
New Media and Society
1.5 VIRTUAL COMMUNITIES
An online or virtual community is an online entity in which a group of
people gather together and exchange messages through digital networks.
More importantly, these people gather into virtual communities based on
their areas of common interest, and they may not necessarily come from the
same geographical locations. Even many of the members might not have
met each other in their life-time.
Harold Rheingold (1996), considered as the father of virtual community
studies, defines virtual communities as “Cultural aggregations that emerge
when enough people bump into each other often enough in cyberspace. It is
a group of people who may or may not meet one another face-to-face, and
who exchange words and ideas through the mediation of computer bulletin
boards and networks. We do everything that people do when people get
together, but we do it with words on computer screens leaving our bodies
behind.”
A virtual community has its advantages compared to its counterpart in the
offline world. CMC will do, by way of electronic pathways, what cement
roads were unable to do - connect us rather than isolate us, put us at the
controls of a “vehicle” and yet not detach us from the rest of the world.
Unlike face-to-face interaction, in which relationships are initiated, and
then topics of mutual interest sought, Internet users, can go directly to the
topics that interest them and pursue interaction with like-minded others.
In furthering the concept of the virtual community, Rheingold puts forth the
very purpose of online meetings. He proclaims it as “social aggregations
that emerge from the [Internet] when enough people carry on those public
discussions long enough, with sufficient human feeling, to form webs of
personal relationships in cyberspace.”
Unlike the traditional mass communication setup, where central authority
has control over the selection and production of messages consumed by
millions, virtual communities offer a more democratic apparatus where
access is broadly distributed and brings with it the option of interaction,
offering new possibilities of community formation in the online platform.
In the electronic communities, a set of shared practices help to produce the
conditions that are similar to traditional communities outside of the realm
of computers and virtual spaces defined by the “bit”-based technology of
computers. Here, the community becomes central because the technology
has now provided the ability to communicate across the boundaries and has
removed limitations that the traditional community imposed.
Cyberspace technology’s support for the formation of virtual communities
is a mere structural one, and it does not have any meaningful role in
sustaining the group for an extended period. Human interaction and spirit
of commonality is essentially the vital key to fostering virtual communities.
The commonality that holds virtual community intact is the subject line
criterion of togetherness, a feeling of connectedness that confers a sense of
belonging.
Interconnected computers do not by themselves provide congenial space for
a group of people to float an online community in cyberspace. Moreover,
virtual communities of interest can be formed only if everyone adheres to a
24
standard set of guidelines for organising the groups, subgroups, and topics. Internet as a Medium
According to Baym (1995), the factors of temporal structure, external
contexts, systems infrastructure, groups’ purposes, and participant and group
characteristics are the most salient pre-existing forces in the development of
the computer-mediated community.
Even though members of virtual communities come from diverse
geographical points, they do share certain common traits. According to Lave
and Wenger, participants of virtual communication can be classified into
Peripheral (i.e. Lurker) – external, unstructured participation; Inbound (i.e.
Novice) – a newcomer interested in the community and heading towards
full participation; Insider (i.e. Regular) – fully committed community
participant; Boundary (i.e. Leader) – a leader, sustains membership
participation and brokers interactions; and Outbound (i.e. Elder) – in the
process of leaving the community as a result of new relationships, new
positions, new and outlook.
Check Your Progress: 3
Note: 1) Use the space below for your answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this Unit.
1. Explain the relevance of impersonal CMC in contemporary social
media dominated online scenarios.
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2. Discuss the emergence of virtual communities on Facebook platform.
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Activity – 3 Visit any YouTube-based channel which has more than 1000
subscribers, analyse the type of participants it has. Categorise them as per
points mentioned in the previous page.

1.6 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit, we have discussed the concepts related to cyberspace - an online
platform that exists in digital networks through which we communicate our
ideas, using various media elements such as text, photos, smiley, audio-
video content, etc. We have gone through the conceptual frameworks
of cyberspace in which, unlike the offline world’s social hierarchy, the
knowledge matters in digital networks. Similarly, we have discussed about
various formats of computer-mediated communication - synchronous and
asynchronous, and different forms of CMC - impersonal, interpersonal, and
hyper-personal. With the help of digital networks and through computer-
media communication, an online community emerges on its own by
aggregating like-minded and common interest-oriented people gathered in
cyberspace. This human settlement is a unique form of social relationship
that exists within ourselves.

25
New Media and Society
1.7 KEYWORDS
Asynchronous CMC: It is just opposite of synchronous CMC, yet
another form of Computer-media communication. This form of CMC
happens with time constraints which means that the people involved in this
communication process are not necessarily available on a real-time basis.
The sender and receiver exchange information at different timings. There is
a delay in feedback and responses. Email-based communication is one of
the examples of asynchronous CMC.
Computer-Mediated Communication: A process of human communication
of sharing words and ideas takes place between a group of people over
digital networks. The information exchange may be on a real-time basis
and delayed patterns, and the communication process uses multiple media
elements.
Cyberspace: It is an electronic space or medium that exists in the networks
of various networks. Cyberspace facilitates communication between human
beings through computing devices and within/between computing devices.
This conceptual electronic space is not constrained by distance and physical
limitations.
Online/Virtual Community: There are many names associated with Online
Community/Virtual Community/Digital Community/Web Community - but
all refer to a group of people who aggregates themselves based on common
interest, and they may come from any geographical place but use mostly
asynchronous modes of computer-mediated communication. In the longer
run, these communities tend to develop their social norms for their members.
Synchronous CMC: It is a form of Computer-mediated communication
where the information exchange happens in real-time which means the
people involved at both the ends of the communication process should be
available in the computing networks but not necessarily in the same location.
Virtual/video conferencing is one of the examples of synchronous CMC.

1.8 FURTHER READINGS

1. Herring, S. C. (2004). An approach to researching online
behavior. in Barab, S. A., Kling, R., & Gray, J. H. (Eds.).
Designing for Virtual Communities in the Service of Learning
(pp. 338-376). New York: Cambridge University Press. Retrieved
online in February 2020 - https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/
fed1/470ea82247eb56b045c811a144087d5b7644.pdf
2. Herring, S. C., & And routsopoulos, J. (2015). Computer-mediated
discourse 2.0. The handbook of discourse analysis, 2, 127-151.
Retrieved online in December 2019 - http://www.philsci.univ.kiev.ua/
UKR/courses/asp/asp-lit/tannen_d_hamilton_h_e_schiffrin_d_eds_
the_handbook_of_discou.pdf#page=157
3. Kiesler, S., Siegel, J., & McGuire, T. W. (1984). Social psychological
aspects of computer-mediated communication. American
psychologist, 39(10), 1123. Retrieved online in December 2019 -
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~./kiesler/publications/PDFs/1984_Social-
Psych-Aspects-Comp-Med-Comm.pdf
26
4. Rheingold, H. (2000). The virtual community: Homesteading on Internet as a Medium
the electronic frontier. MIT press. Retrieved online in January 2020
-https://dlc.dlib.indiana.edu/dlc/bitstream/handle/10535/18/The_
Virtual_Community.pdf?sequence=1
5. Walther, J. B. (1996). Computer-mediated communication:
Impersonal, interpersonal, and hyperpersonal interaction.
Communication Research, 23(1), 3-43. Retrieved online in January
2020-http://collablab.northwestern.edu/CollabolabDistro/nucmc/
Walther-CMCHyperpersonal-CommRes-1996.pdf
6. Walther, J. B., Van Der Heide, B., Ramirez, A., Burgoon, J. K.,
& Peña, J. (2015). Interpersonal and hyper-personal dimensions
of computer-mediated communication. The handbook of the
psychology of communication technology, 1, 22. Retrieved
online in January 2020 - https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/5c0d/
b2dc4fbab9cb4bc90c1fc491212e69de1b2d.pdf
7. Ziegler, N. (2016). Synchronous computer-mediated communication
and interaction: A meta-analysis. Studies in Second Language
Acquisition, 38(3), 553-586. Retrieved online in January 2020 - http://
nziegler.com/s/Ziegler-2016-SSLA.pdf

1.9 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS: POSSIBLE ANSWERS

Check Your Progress: 1
1. There are two types of communication processes that are part of a
digital platform - synchronous and asynchronous. Asynchronous
communication does not require people to be involved in real-time
while exchanging ideas and information. Interactivity is an important
element of new media. It eliminates the time barrier for a user to
access the contents conveniently anytime anywhere. The time-shifting
facility enhances a user’s involvement in the online environment, and
hence, time is a crucial factor here. The virtual platform offers not
only a multitude of topic areas but also the ability to participate at
a convenient time. There is no weekly meeting to catch after work.
Email is one of the popular examples of the asynchronous mode of
computer-mediated communication.
2. Cyberspace is an electronic conceptual platform that exists in a
network of networks. This platform facilitates communication
exchanges between people, people, and digital devices and among the
digital devices. The main advantage of cyberspace is that it cuts the
physical distance between two communicating people, irrespective
of their time zones. The quantum of the exchange of information
will be huge and equally, and it might be in multiple modes of
communication. The central negative dimension of cyberspace is that
it reduces the exchange of non-verbal cues that might alter the length
of the discussion as well as complete exchanges of ideas.
3. Face-to-face communication takes a topmost position in any ranking
of communication settings. It is not comparable to any other
alternative mode of personal interaction. However, cyberspace
has provided a platform to interact with each other to overcome
27
New Media and Society the physical constraints and different geographical locations. F2F
is rich in cues and non-verbal communication, which has a strong
influence on altering the course of communication between the
persons involved. It is instantaneous, and the person involved in it
takes a quick turn of his/her role. Whereas in computer-mediated
communication, particularly in the synchronous CMC, there is a
scope for instantaneous feedback and role change as well, but the
personal communication over cyberspace tends to lack non-verbal
cues and signs, which might delay the information exchange.
Check Your Progress: 2
1. Synchronous based computer-mediated communication is being
carried out on a real-time basis. The people involved in these
activities, need to be present in the process in their respective places
and be participants in the LIVE communication exchange. Whereas
in asynchronous mode, as the name suggests, the communication
process does not require the active presence of its participants.
2. An online community is a collection of people who hail from diverse
geographical backgrounds. However, they join together in the online
platform (be it a social media group member or email listserv group
member) based on the common interest. In the online community,
there are no physical or time constraints. In the case of an offline
community, mostly it is location specified, and members usually
come from the nearest places. However, the common interest could
also be a binding factor here. Regular meetings or gatherings are the
few options available to them to meet each other, and time is the
biggest constraint here.
Check Your Progress: 3
1. Impersonal CMC refers to the communication exchanges that
happen entirely in textual mode, which generally lacks non-verbal
behavioural cues. These cues are crucial in routine face-to-face
communication settings. Hence, impersonal CMC tends to be inferior
to f2f settings. The scholar Joseph Walther gave critical inputs on
impersonal CMC, however, later research findings gave critical
assessments. In contemporary settings, the impersonal CMC is rarely
noticed due to many advancements in the technology - audio-video
conferences, smiley expressions, and more of multimedia oriented
online information exchanges that gave ample scope to replicate non-
verbal cues.
2. Virtual communities can exist in Facebook platforms - either the users
are following an individual or a particular page or a group (it can be
private as well as public; some of them are unmoderated while most
of them are moderated). Being a member of this group or page or an
individual page, they tend to exchange ideas with other members,
over a period of time, the group or page or member of an individual
develops its social norms. Thus, the emergence of a virtual community
on the Facebook platform is possible.

28
UNIT 2 : DIGITAL MEDIA AND SOCIETY
Structure
2.0 Introduction
2.1 Learning Outcomes
2.2 Digital Media in Society
2.2.1 Understanding Digital Media
2.2.2 Evolution and Development of Digital Media
2.3 Concepts and Theories of Digital Media
2.4 Medium Specific Trends
2.5 Revolution within the Media Landscape
2.5.1 Mass Media Adaptation into Digital Media
2.5.2 Convergence in Digital Media
2.5.3 Trends of Digital Media
2.5.4 Revolution in Messaging
2.5.5 Regional Languages in Online Media
2.6 Effects of Digital Media
2.6.1 Cybercrime and Security
2.6.2 Privacy and Surveillance
2.6.3 Online Hate
2.6.4 Disinformation and Misinformation
2.6.5 Characteristics of Millennials
2.7 Let Us Sum Up
2.8 Keywords
2.9 Further Readings
2.10 Check Your Progress: Possible Answers

2.0 INTRODUCTION
Media as an umbrella term denotes ‘communication media’ and the
institutions and organisations in which people work (the press, cinema,
broadcasting, publishing, etc.) as well as the cultural and material products
of those institutions. The denotations of media in the form of print and
electronic media shifted from analogue (print and electronic) to digital
media, encompassing the convergence and divergence of media. However,
the transfer of electronic media to digital media has emulsified with the
centrality of media, especially the new media. While television and radio
sets have had a long presence in households in the developing world, new
media has been omnipresent in the developed world: in living rooms,
offices, and schools, in the streets, in playrooms and bedrooms. While in
the developing world, the penetration of new media is novel but dynamic.

29
New Media and Society With the emergence of the Internet in the 1990s, the domain of media has
restructured considerably, ranging from the point of media production, the
processes through which information and representations of the media are
distributed received, and consumed by its audience as well as how the media
is regulated and controlled by the state or the market. However, digital media
emerged as a concept in the 1980s with the shift from analogue to digital.
Nonetheless, the influx of digital media has also revolutionised the media
playfield along with transforming the social, political, economic, and
cultural spheres of life. Therefore, while studying digital media in society,
we explore and scrutinise the new dynamics of digital media in the social,
cultural, political, and economic realms, all of which constitute the society
as a whole.

2.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES

After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
●● describe the fundamentals of digital media in society;
●● discuss the scope and growth of digital media in society;
●● apply the theoretical understanding of digital media in real life.
●● illustrate the trends, effects, and other issues that have emerged due to
the advent of digital media;
●● evaluate the development of digital media across the globe; and
●● critically analyse the implications of digital media in society, politics,
economy, and culture;

2.2 DIGITAL MEDIA IN SOCIETY

The materialisation of digital media has created a dual identity of the logic
of media, prior to which media in a general sense consisted of print and
the audio-visual medium. The legacy of media as a singular entity has
disintegrated and re-integrated, through cultural, economic, and political
processes, to pave the way for digital media. Therefore, the fulcrum
of traditional media and new media is loosely edged on the aspects of
production, consumption, and outlet patterns.
Media as an institution has become a space of converging and diverging
spaces with overlapping characteristics of traditional media and new media,
essentially due to the collapse of space and time as well as a mode of
production. In the arena of news, newspapers, and magazines, television
news channels, as well as online news platforms, have enriched the debate
and the consumption patterns of news. This fact is evident across all stances
of life and society.
To comprehend the extent of the influx of digital media in society, it will
be pertinent to briefly trace the contextualisation of digital media along
with the expanse of growth and development. We shall understand the
characteristics of digital media to draw a comprehensive picture of digital
media. Furthermore, we shall take an overview of the manifestation of
norms, theories, and concepts related to digital media in contemporary
society.
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2.2.1 Understanding Digital Media Digital Media and Society

The media sphere has continually been in a state of technological, institutional,

and cultural change or development, from printing, photography through
television to telecommunications. However, with the advent of digital
media, the nature of change has not been the constant development that the
media witnessed, but it increased rapidly from the late 1980s.
The bigger frames of cultural and social change that occurred at varying
degrees from the 1960s onwards influenced the emergence of digital media,
especially the shift from modernity to postmodernity, intensifying the
processes of globalisation as well as the shift from the industrial age of
manufacturing by post-industrial information. This revolution introduced
us to the concepts of digital media, online media, and new media.
New media, as a generic concept, introduces an arbitrary split between old
and new media, inclusive of both digital and online media and other evolving
media forms, implicitly emphasising the shift in media logic which delves
into the openness and struggle between different ideas, users and logics.
Online media, as a concept, refers to the Internet, which is the prototypical
new medium. The term online media prioritises the element of connectivity
or how the connection is made with other media, mainly computers, and
also more recently mobile telephones.
The concept of digital media arises from the characteristic that all information
or data in these media is encoded in numbers, the most common being that
of binary code of 0 and 1. Thus, technology is the defining dimension of
the media which observes the shift of storing information digitally on a
physical object, for example, USB flash drive, digital images, MP3, etc.
The ambiguous nature of new media as a term, which primarily leans on
subjectivity, and the restricted perception of online media, which focuses on
internet-based media only, leads us to focus on digital media in this Unit in
convergence with the facet of online media since the Internet has enhanced
the digital sphere.
In accordance with the focal point of this Unit, the characteristics of Digital
Media can be categorised as follows:
●● Digital: In a digital media process, all data are converted into
numbers. Numerical representation makes digital information
programmable, alterable, and subject to algorithmic manipulation. It
can be compressed and decompressed using algorithms, allowing for
large amounts of data to be stored and distributed efficiently.
●● Interactive: According to Jensen (1998), interactivity is “a measure
of the media’s potential and ability to let the user exert an influence
on the context and/or form of the mediated communication.” In this
context, interactivity can be interpreted as a value-added characteristic
of digital media.
●● Hypertext: Hypertext is a form of text that is composed of nodes
or blocks of text which form the content, the links between these
blocks of content, and the buttons or tags that enact the link from one
node to another. Thus, in a digital media process, hypertext combines
traditional text with interactive branching to create a non-linear text
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New Media and Society which enables the ability to synthesise data and data retrieval at a
later stage.
●● Dispersion: Dispersion, here, refers to the diffusion of digital media,
in comparison to mass media, at the level of consumption and
production with the multiplication of sites and segmentation and
resultant individualisation of media use.
●● Virtual: The notion of virtuality emerges from the convergence of
digital image technologies both with older kinds of analogue media
and with computer-mediated telecommunications networks. The
‘virtual’ aspect of digital media focuses on the Internet and the World
Wide Web; immersive, 3D, and spectacular image technologies;
screen-based multimedia and animation.
●● Telepresence: Digital media has the potential to alter our feeling of
presence. Due to digital media, we gain the ability to simultaneously
exist in two different environments at the same time: the physical
environment in which our body is located and the conceptual or the
interactional space where we are present with the use of the medium.
2.2.2 Evolution and Development of Digital Media
The emergence of digital coding can be attributed to Charles Babbage, who
in the early 1800s, conceptualised codes and information by machines,
followed by Ada Lovelace in 1822 and 1823, who wrote the first instructions
for calculating numbers on Babbage’s machines.
However, the timeline of digital media commenced in 1941 with the
invention of Z3, an electromechanical ‘Z’ machine by Konrad Zuse. It was
the first working machine featuring binary arithmetic and a measure of
programmability and is also regarded as one of the first computers, followed
by the invention of Harvard mark 1, a large-scale electromechanical computer,
in 1944. Digital devices such as the Xerox machine, communication
satellite, microchip, virtual reality and augmented reality Head Mounted
Display (HMD) system were developed after World War II, that is, 1947
and it went on till 1968.
In 1969, ARPANET was developed by the Defence Advanced Research
Projects Agency of the US Department of Defence. It was the world’s first
operational packet switching network. In 1970, Sony introduced the first
videocassette followed by the invention of the computer floppy disks and
microprocessors in 1971. The first video game console, the Magnavox
Odyssey, was launched in 1972, while Hewlett-Packard pioneered the
Desktop computer in 1973.
Interestingly, in 1974, Nam June Paik, a 20th century South Korean-born US
video artist, claimed to have coined the term ‘the information superhighway’,
that is, a route or network for high-speed transfer of information. The year
1975 was a path-breaking because Microsoft was founded by Bill Gates,
the first major ISP (Internet service provider) and the first hand-held mobile
phone arrived. In 1979, the first cellular phone communication network
started in Japan. The early years of the 1980s witnessed an upsurge in
technological inventions and development such as compact disc players,
Apple computers, CD Walkman, silicon microchip, CD-ROM, etc. to name
a few.
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In 1990, the possibility of the World Wide Web was described by Tim Digital Media and Society
Berners-Lee, which further saw an upsurge in the extent of development
in the media sphere. The following decade boomed with technological
inventions across the globe with the first online website, digicam, short
message service (SMS) to a mobile phone, DVD, digital still image camera,
the first digital television service (DirectTV), etc. being developed.
In 1994, the US government released control of the Internet, and the World
Wide Web (WWW) was brought in for public use which changed the media
landscape considerably. E-commerce platforms (Amazon.com, Alibaba
Group), online search engines (Google), email (Hotmail), social networking
websites (MySpace) emerged in the latter half of the decade.
In 2004, the term ‘Web 2.0’ gained currency following the first O’Reilly
Media Web 2.0 conference. Moreover, 2004 also witnessed the launch of the
social networking website, Facebook followed by YouTube in 2005, Twitter
in 2006, WhatsApp in 2009, LinkedIn and Instagram in 2010, Snapchat in
2011, and lastly, TikTok in 2012.
The digital media landscape is not just restricted to the devices or the
networking websites as mentioned above as many more such digital media
platforms emerged with a sudden boom which transformed the narrative of
how we live and sustain in society.

2.3 CONCEPTS AND THEORIES OF DIGITAL MEDIA

The scope of concepts and theories of digital media is extensive. However,
in this Unit, we are covering only the most central concepts and theories.
Marshall McLuhan: Remediation, Extension of Man, Medium is The
Message
Here, we have outlined McLuhan’s ideas related to media and how it
restructures in the context of digital media. We have concentrated on three
key ideas: first, ‘remediation’, a concept that finds its roots in McLuhan’s
view that ‘the content of any medium is always another medium’; second,
his idea that media and technologies are extensions of the human body and
its senses; third, his view that ‘the medium is the message’.
McLuhan’s view of media as technological extensions of the body is his
basis for conceiving four media cultures which are brought about by shifts
from oral to written communication, from script to print, and from print to
electronic media.
McLuhan configures technologies and mediums in this way because he
views both as part of a larger class of things; as extensions of four of the
five human senses: sight, hearing, touch, and smell. McLuhan also asserts
that such extensions of our bodies, placed in the context of the body’s whole
range of senses (the sensorium), affect both our minds and our societies.
In the context of the medium is the message, McLuhan explains:
1. the power of media technologies to structure social arrangements and
relationships, and
2. the mediating aesthetic properties of a media technology as our senses
in different ways, the multidirectional simultaneity of sound as against
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New Media and Society a line of sight, the fixed, segmenting linearity of printed language, the
high resolution of the film, or the low resolution of the TV, etc.
Raymond Williams: Social Shaping of Technology
In line with the ‘social shaping of technology’ school of thought, Raymond
Williams stresses that the knowledge and acquired skills necessary to use
a tool or machine are an integral part of any full concept of the technology.
Williams differentiates between:
●● Technical inventions and techniques upon which technology depends,
the alphabet, appropriate tools or machines for making marks, and
suitable surfaces for accurately retaining marks;
●● The substantive technology which, in terms of writing, is a distribution
technology (it distributes language) and this requires a means or form-
scrolls of papyrus, portable manuscripts, mass-produced printed
books, letters, or emails and other kinds of electronic text;
●● The technology in social use. This includes (a) the specialised practice
of writing which was initially restricted to minorities and then opened
up, through education, to broader sections of society and (b) the social
part of the distribution of the technologically reproduced language
which again was only extended in response to perceived social needs.
Jean Baudrillard: The Real as Simulation
Jean Baudrillard argued that with globalisation and commodification,
European and North American societies had changed their system of
representation from one in which there was a clear separation between
object and subject, between the real and it’s represented version, to a new
state of reality as a simulation. In Ecstasy of Communication, Baudrillard
states that we have entered a new era of simulation or hyper-reality in which
the screen and a network replace the scene and the mirror. To understand
what he means by this radical replacement, we first need to understand what
he means by the ‘scene’ and the ‘mirror’. For Baudrillard, mirror and scene
are both symbolic qualities of ‘the object’. The object is what is external
to or produced by the subject, the self, which corresponds to our intimate
universe, our imaginary and symbolic world. In this equation, we are ‘the
subject’. Baudrillard argued that the opposition between object and subject,
private and public used to define our relationship in and towards reality.
Hence, we express our mental or psychological reality through making
objects which open up the imaginary depths, the more profound scene of
our life.
Actor-Network Theory
Actor-Network Theory denotes the relationship between humans, systems,
and machines in computer networked communications. Actor-Network
Theory (ANT) originated in the social sciences in studies of scientific,
technological practices and networks. It is most associated with the work
of Bruno Latour. Latour defines both human and non-human elements,
structures in the environment as actors who can make other features
dependent upon themselves. Actors have interests that can be aligned with
different actors’ interests to form an actor-network. Both humans and non-
humans may be ‘actants’ in a network made up of social groups, entities,
and artefacts which then become enlisted to reinforce a position within a
34
network. ANT argues that nature and society are consequences, not causes Digital Media and Society
of human, scientific, and technical work.
Post Modernity
The social and cultural dimension of globalised economic activity has
been fruitfully defined as ‘the condition of postmodernity’. The condition
of postmodernity is another way of accounting for the interrelationship
between technology, social, and cultural development. Postmodernity is a
period which deals with concepts that connect the emergence of new aspects
of culture with changes in social life and the new globalised economic order.
Postmodernism, distinct from the condition of postmodernity, identifies
trends, or movements in theoretical thinking, art, architecture, and cultural
life. Postmodernism, in all its forms, argued that the changes in the world
over, since the Second World War have been of such a magnitude that we can
no longer continue with the rationalist modernist paradigm of thought and
action. Postmodernists argue that a radical reorganisation of philosophical
thought and cultural activity was needed and pointed towards cataclysmic
events like the Second World War in Europe, the Holocaust, the collapse
of the Soviet Union, the AIDs pandemic, and Chernobyl, which rationalist
science and technological progress did nothing to stop.
Psychoanalysis
The concept of psychoanalysis, much like that of postmodernity emerged
with that of the advent of digital media. The critical paradigm of research
encompasses psychoanalysis as an essential terminology which constitutes
the essence of networks and digital media. Reflects upon the inner workings
of media and the mind. For understanding the concept of psychoanalysis,
it is essential to know the importance of the work of Freud (1856-1939), as
the notion of the self has been central to the content of media and artistic
communication. Freud’s radical contribution to the understanding of the
human mind is based upon his elaboration of the concept of the unconscious.
Prior to Freud, philosophy had equated the human mind with consciousness
founded upon reason. Freud argued that only a small part of mental activity
was conscious and that the unconscious consisted of inadmissible and
involuntary ideas, which also motivate behaviour.
Freud developed a theory of the unconscious based upon his treatment of
neurosis and his analysis of the content of dreams. Freud argued that the
unconscious is made up of impulses, desires, or wishes, which get their
energy from the physical instincts, of which sexuality was primary.
Check Your Progress: 1
Note: 1) Use the space below for your answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this Unit.
1. Describe the concept of digital media in your own words.
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2. What are the characteristics of digital media?
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New Media and Society ..............................................................................................................
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3. What is the Actor-Network Theory? Describe in detail the
contextualisation of digital media in Actor-Network-Theory.
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2.4 MEDIUM SPECIFIC TRENDS

Digital media has influenced the emergence of trends that have completely
transformed the dynamics of the media, political and social sphere such
as the emergence of cyber laws, debates on net neutrality, the mobile
revolution, digital literacy, and gaming.
Cyber Laws: With the arrival of digital media, policymakers across the
globe have developed cyber laws for their respective countries, which
govern the communication technology, particularly cyberspace or the
Internet. Cyber laws and all the users of this space come under the ambit of
these laws as it carries a kind of worldwide jurisdiction. Cyberlaw can also
be described as a branch of law that deals with legal issues related to the use
of inter-networked information technology.
In most of the developed countries, cyber laws have been developed
stringently based on the norms of privacy and security of its citizens,
especially the Western countries. In India, cyber laws are contained in the
Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) and subsegment amendments
which came into force on October 17, 2000. The primary purpose of the Act
is to provide legal recognition to electronic commerce and to facilitate the
filing of electronic records with the government.
Net Neutrality: The concept of net neutrality focuses on the underlying
assumption that all data on the Internet should be treated equally by
corporations, such as internet service providers, and governments,
regardless of content, user, platform, application, or device. Network
neutrality requires all Internet service providers (ISPs) to provide the same
level of data access and speed to all traffic. That traffic to any one or more
service or website cannot be blocked or degraded. ISPs are not supposed to
create unique arrangements with services or websites, in which companies
providing them services are given improved network access or speed.
The term “network neutrality” was introduced in the year 2002. The
concept was floated in response to efforts by the Federal Communications
Commission (FCC), a United States regulator body, to require broadband
providers to share their infrastructure with competing firms. Internationally,
countries like the USA, Japan, Brazil, Chile, Norway, etc. have some form
of law and order or regulatory framework in place that affects net neutrality.
In the Indian context, the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI)
adopted net neutrality regulations in July 2018. The net neutrality
regulations in India affirms that internet access services should be governed
by a principle that restricts any form of discrimination or interference in the
treatment of content, including practices like blocking, degrading, slowing
down, or granting preferential speeds or treatment to any content.
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Mobile Revolution: Mobile media has firmly embedded itself into our Digital Media and Society
lives in the contemporary world. Mobile phones have offered us the unique
possibility of transcending the confines of space and location, allowing us
to communicate with others regardless of where we are. In doing so, they
transform how we understand space, and have disrupted the boundaries we
had placed between private and public space, and between working life and
social-private life. With the infusion of mobile devices, the emerging highly
mobile, personalised, atomised, hybrid work-social life has completely
changed the dynamics of our way of life socially, culturally as well as
politically.
In the political spectrum, horizontal social networks have developed
extensively, however, the scope of democratisation of political mediation
and the pressure of commercialisation and control of mobile media is
still a contested issue. While in the socio-cultural outcomes of the mobile
revolution, individual autonomy has been enhanced considerably with
a renewed sense of creativity and use of imagination due to the influx of
several messaging and calling digital platforms, however, the dominance of
consumer culture has taken over the medium of face-to-face communication.
Mobile phones have also contributed to the exponential growth of diffusion
with rates of more than 100% in some developed countries. Moreover,
access to mobile phones in developing countries has increased substantially.
The lower middle class is also increasingly dependent on mobile phones
for information including access to the Internet on mobile phones, which
in developing countries such as India is a significant source of information
across all classes of the society.
Digital Literacy Initiatives: As technology transforms what and how
we read and consume information, the notion of digital literacy becomes
crucial. The American Library Association (ALA) defines digital literacy
as “the ability to use information and communication technologies to find,
evaluate, create, and communicate information, requiring both cognitive
and technical skills.” In this context, digital literacy encompasses more than
education because the Internet has become a key source of information. It is
imperative to be digitally literate, to be able to comprehend what is authentic
and reliable information while consuming information. Individuals who are
aware of digital literacy understand the basics of Internet safety such as
creating strong passwords, understanding and using privacy settings and
know what or what not to share on social media.
While digital literacy as a concept has gained prominence across the globe
at the institutional levels, India has embarked upon the National Digital
Literacy Mission (NDLM) Programme, not just for students but for all
strata of the society. The National Digital Literacy Mission Programme is
a dynamic and integrated platform of digital literacy awareness, education,
and capacity-building programmes that will help rural communities to
take the lead in the global digital economy and help them in maintaining
a level of competitiveness. It will also help in shaping a technologically
empowered society. The vision of the Digital Literacy Mission (DLM) is
to create multi-stakeholder, consortium and work with government and
their various schemes and agendas to showcase in some of the panchayats
constituencies that how making them digitally literate can bring about
37
New Media and Society change in the scenario of governance, empowerment, social inclusion,
educational approach, and employment.
Games and Gaming: The gaming industry in India is all set to grow with
modern technologies like artificial intelligence. It is bound to revolutionise
the gaming experience. To cite a study conducted by KPMG in the year
2019, the number of game development companies in India today stands at
around 275. This number was a mere 25 in the year 2010. This number alone
speaks volumes about the growth and possibilities of the gaming industry in
India. With India having the world’s largest youth population and second-
largest internet population, it makes the country one of the world’s leading
markets in the gaming sector. There are over 22.2 crore gamers in India who
spend an average of 42 minutes per day on mobile games.

2.5 REVOLUTION WITHIN THE MEDIA

LANDSCAPE
This sub-unit details out the revolution that has panned out within the media
sector that contextualises the notion of digital media.
2.5.1 Mass Media Adaptation into Digital Media
The emergence of electronic media occurred in cohesion with the print
media as the two forms of media complemented each other in terms of
usability, access, and dissemination of information catering to different
senses of an individual. However, with the arrival of digital media in the
post-industrial era, digital media has completely altered the media landscape
with digital media being a constant threat to print and electronic media due
to its omnipresent and interactive features. This aspect is prominently dealt
with within the recent KPMG report published in 2019. The overall industry
performance in the digital media sphere has witnessed an increase of 38.5%
from 2015-2019, whereas, in TV and print, films and radio, the industry
performance is 9.9%, 5.6%, 9.6%, and 8.6% respectively. The digital
segment is observed to be the torchbearer of the industry, and a similar
outcome is projected up to 2024 in India.
Key technological innovations in the media and entertainment sector are
disrupting the traditional approach to the dissemination of information,
especially the smartphone user base, influx of mobile Internet, broadband
connectivity in rural India, public internet access through the Common
Service Centres network, e-governance, and embracing of digital
consumption by both the private and public sectors of the economy.
The convenience of the digital media platforms and the ease of use and
access has facilitated the disruption of mass media by the influx of digital
media and is expected to dominate even further in the future.
2.5.2 Convergence in Digital Media
The first form of convergence to consider is technological convergence.
Technological convergence is the movement of almost all media and
information to digital electronic formats, storage, and transfer: the digitisation
of all media, communications, texts, sound, images, and even currency into
a standard digital format or language. This process has involved a switch
from analogue forms of media to digital forms.
Due to technological convergence, the governments or policymakers
initiated the need to bring a change in the legislation to govern this new
38
form of industry. This led to the second kind of convergence, here, referred Digital Media and Society
to as regulatory convergence, which is a deregulatory strategy in the media
and telecommunication industries adopted by the governments of many
industrial economies since the mid-1990s. This set of regulatory changes has
had a profound effect on the structure of the media, telecom, and computing
industries and a significant impact on our current media culture.
Post the transformation of the regulatory framework, mergers, and
acquisitions across the media industry was witnessed on a large scale,
which was driven by a combination of technological developments and the
overall climate of neoliberal deregulation and globalisation. The dominance
of media conglomerates with large scale mergers and acquisitions paved the
way for large scale cross-industry expansion or horizontal integration, in
which a firm in one industry (for instance, telecommunications) expanded
across to another industry (such as television broadcasting) and vertical
integration, in which a firm that is concentrated on one point in the production
chain of a sector (for instance, film production) expands into another part
of the production chain in the same industry, such as film distribution. Both
these types of expansion drove a general strategy of industrial convergence
within the media and telecom sector, which is the third kind of convergence
that occurred and changed the overall media landscape.
2.5.3 Trends of Digital Media
The most talked-about trend in digital media that is going to hit the
Indian market is the rollout of 5G internet connectivity. Although India
has predominantly been a 2G market since 2017, there has been a surge
in the sale of smartphone devices owing to a combination of factors like
falling data prices, better network coverage, low-cost 4G handsets, and the
development of locally relevant content. The 5G network will not only allow
the telecom sector to meet the requirement of high-speed data services, it
will also support rich content-specific OTT services. With the increase in
smartphone users to more than 800 million by 2022, an increasing number
of Indians are likely to utilise digital distribution as the primary outlet for
video consumption, thus emerging as a real threat to traditional, linear
television in India.
The second most emergent trend of digital media can be that of 8K content
and hardware. Leading TV manufacturers have started releasing 8K TVs in
mature markets like the US, China, Japan, and Europe. With the advent of
5G, streaming of HD content is expected to become mainstream, which will
benefit the sale of 8K TVs. In India, we are yet to see strong traction in the
development of 8K content, but it is expected to get better in the coming
years.
The third most relevant trend of digital media is that of Content Delivery
Networks (CDN). CDN significantly reduces the site latency, boosts webpage
load time, reduces bandwidth usage cost, and ensures global availability of
content. AI-based predictive acceleration and the use of hyper-local CDNs
are a couple of key trends in this arena. India is experiencing significant
growth in data consumption-specifically concerning radio, hence, the
importance of CDN is more significant than ever before.

39
New Media and Society The notion of digital labour is the fourth most important trend in digital
media. Digital labour can be broadly classified into basic robotic process
automation, enhanced process automation, and cognitive automation based
on maturity levels. In the media and entertainment playfield, digital labour
has found use in content generation, discovery and regulation, and also
in support function automation. In India, several start-ups have come up
focusing on intelligent automation, artificial intelligence, machine learning,
and big data.
The fifth trend of digital media is that of Augmented and Virtual Reality
which continues to disrupt the way media is created and consumed. Big
players like Facebook, Google, Microsoft, and Magic Leap are coming
up with innovative products and solutions to the market. In India, VR
content production is gaining traction in areas like gaming, tourism, sports,
advertising, etc. While usage of AR/VR is on the rise, widespread adoption
is still in its early stages in India.
2.5.4 Revolution in Messaging
The speed, convenience, and versatility of social messaging have led to its
integration within the entire customer journey, and even more significant
than the traditional methods like emails, phone, or live chats.
WhatsApp and similar other social messaging apps have allowed people
to share texts, videos, photos, and other content through a digital platform.
Even though these apps are referred to as IP messaging apps, these have
primarily become ‘Social Networks’. The forerunners in the arena of IP
messaging are WhatsApp, Viber, Google Duo, Hike, Skype, Facebook
Messenger, VChat, Instagram Messenger, Snapchat, Telegram, etc. wherein
WhatsApp takes the lead across the country.
A shift in the trend of messaging has emerged in the recent decade with voice
calling taking a back seat and IP messaging becoming the predominant form
of communication. Besides, these IP messaging platforms provide its users
with the opportunity to place a video or voice call (also known as VOIP),
thereby, changing the dynamics of the telecom sector in India and across
the globe.
To keep up with the technological advancements and interests of the users
and prospective users, IP messaging apps also delve into various forms of
content sharing. The use of emojis, GIFs, emoji, stickers has become quite
prevalent, especially amongst the younger audience along with the sharing
of images, videos, documents, and location which have garnered worldwide
attention as well.
2.5.5 Regional Languages in Online Media
At 97 million, the number of people speaking Bengali is more than the
entire population of Germany. Similar comparisons made in the context
of regional languages have revealed staggering numbers, for example,
the number of people speaking Marathi (83 million), Telugu (81 million),
and Tamil (69 million) is higher than the entire population of Turkey (82
million), France (65 million) and the UK (67 million) respectively.
The large audience size, combined with their preference to consume content
in their preferred languages, has led to media players/platforms expanding
their portfolios to offer dedicated regional language content on digital
40
media platforms. Digital platform players such as Zee5, Voot, Hotstar, and Digital Media and Society
Amazon Prime Video are investing heavily in original content creation in
regional languages.
To attract the audience, OTT players are also tying up with major production
houses in regional languages to purchase the rights of films, a trend which
was already predominant in the General Entertainment channels (GEC)
segment. In addition to this, players in the Indian music streaming industry
like Gaana, Google Play Music, JioSaavn, Hungama, Spotify, Airtel
Wynk, Apple Music, and Amazon Prime Music are gaining a foothold by
supporting regional content, through partnerships with local brands like
Saregama, T-Series, Zee Music, YRF, Sony Music as well as creating
playlists considering the choices of Indian audiences and their preferences.
With the rise of web/voice searches in regional languages, search engines
are facing a shortage of quality websites equipped to cater to these searches.
This is giving regional marketers a unique opportunity to maximise impact
by thriving on the relatively low competition for regional keywords. Brands
are leveraging this take by optimising their content for these searchers. This
gives them access to a focused target audience at rates which are much
below the rates for English and Hindi; therefore, website localisation is at
its peak in India in the present scenario.
Check Your Progress: 2
Note: 1) Use the space below for your answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this Unit.
1. What are the prominent trends specific to digital media in the Indian
context?
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2. Describe the forms of convergence in digital media.
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3. Explain briefly how digital media has revolutionised the political and
economic domains of society.
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2.6 EFFECTS OF DIGITAL MEDIA

The effects of digital media impact society at the micro as well as the macro-
levels. Issues about cybercrime, security, privacy, surveillance, online hate,
disinformation, misinformation, and digital addiction are inherent when we
discuss the effects of digital media.
2.6.1 Cybercrime and Security
Although, the advent of digital media has revolutionised the media playfield
along with altering our personal and professional lives considerably, yet it
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New Media and Society has also let loose a set of crimes related to the digital forum, such as cyber-
attacks, identity theft, cyber theft, online scam, etc., affecting personal
security of individuals as well as the national security of various nations.
While online scams, identity theft, and cyber theft pose a significant threat
to individuals while trading identities on social media sites and e-commerce
platforms, cyber warfare and national-level cyber-attacks have affected
governance at a greater level.
Cyber intrusions and attacks have increased dramatically over the last
decade, exposing sensitive personal and business information, disrupting
critical operations, and imposing high costs on the economy. India became
the second most affected country by cyber-attacks between 2016-2018.
Cyber fraud and deception in the form of email scams, phishing, identity
theft have become prominent in India as well some of the notable cases are
the Union Bank of India Heist in July 2016, Wannacry Ransomware in May
2017, Data Theft at Zomato in May 2017, Petya Ransomware in June 2017.
In 2018, the Cosmos Bank Cyber-Attack in Pune, hacking of the Canara
bank ATM, etc. were the major cyber-attacks of the year. In 2019, Pegasus
Attack was one of the most prominent cyber-attacks which targeted Indian
journalists, lawyers, and human rights activists.
Digital India Mission and increasing cybersecurity concerns have
transformed this area into a multi-billion-dollar industry, currently valued
at $4.5 billion and expected to reach $35 billion by 2030. In the present
scenario, the three sectors which are heavily invested in cybersecurity efforts
are the Government, Information and Technology Services, and Banking
in India. In 2018, the Government of India came up with the National
Cyber Security Policy, in consultation with all relevant stakeholders, user
entities, and the public. The policy aims at facilitating the creation of a
secure computing environment and enabling adequate trust and confidence
in electronic transactions and also guiding stakeholders’ actions for the
protection of cyberspace.
2.6.2 Privacy and Surveillance
According to 2019, Forrester Global Map of Privacy Rights and Regulations:
“Regulations that allow governments to access personal data of citizens are
still undermining the overall privacy protections that certain countries offer
their citizens.”
India has been named as a country with minimal restrictions in terms of
data privacy and protection where government surveillance is a matter of
caution alongside countries with high-level government surveillance, such
as China. According to industry experts, lack of constitutional provisions
that enable monitoring of government activity could be one of the primary
reasons for the high level of government surveillance.
2.6.3 Online Hate
The umbrella term of online hate encompasses cyberbullying hate speech,
and online sexual harassment, which are highly dominant amongst
adolescents and teenagers across the world.
Young people, who increasingly integrate many forms of social media into
their intimate, social, and political lives, produce, are exposed to, and combat
hate speech online. Further, they do so in a context where what constitutes
42
hate speech, and what is recognised as racism, are critical dimensions of Digital Media and Society
online engagement and discursive interaction.
Cyberbullying is a kind of harassment that uses electronic forms of contact.
Bullying can include posting rumours about a person, threats, sexual
comments, disclosing victim’s personal information, or hate speech. Victims
of cyberbullying show lower levels of self-esteem, increased suicidal
tendencies, retaliation, and emotional breakdowns, and are also more prone
to being frustrated, angry, or depressed. Many studies have shown that
cyberbullying can be as harmful as traditional forms of bullying.
Anonymous chat rooms are popular among teenagers to make new friends
and talk to different kinds of people. However, this modern twist to pen-
pals comes with grave risks. Bullies hide behind the anonymity clause of
websites to often target kids, either to make sexual and lewd comments or
even send inappropriate content without their knowledge.
A need to combat online hate needs to be kept in mind by all the stakeholders
involved, including the government, teenagers and parents, and appropriate
steps taken towards the same.
2.6.4 Disinformation and Misinformation
The problems of disinformation, misinformation, and mal-information can
be comprehended by the definitions of the terminologies given by United
Nations:
●● Disinformation: Information that is false and deliberately created to
harm a person, social group, organisation, or country
●● Misinformation: Information that is false but not created to cause
harm
●● Mal-information: Information that is based on reality, used to inflict
harm on a person, social group, organisation, or country.
The rise in fake news and disinformation in India and across the globe
has impacted the flow of information amongst the consumers, leading
to the creation of bias and stereotypes. Digital media platforms such as
WhatsApp, Facebook, Google, and Twitter are further fuelling the spread
of disinformation and misinformation, thus, creating chaos and raising
the issues of reliability and validity of the information. Social media and
messaging apps are at the heart of the disinformation problems that India
faces. According to a study conducted by Reuters Institute for the Study
of Journalism at the University of Oxford, 52% of respondents say they
get news via Facebook, and the same percentage say they get news via
WhatsApp, which is owned by Facebook. With an estimated quarter-billion
Indians having come online since the last general election in the year 2014,
companies like Facebook, Google, and Twitter have become an integral part
of the Indian media environment, including the disinformation problems
that it faces. Indians are bombarded with fake news and divisive propaganda
on a near-constant basis from a wide range of sources, from television news
to global platforms like Facebook and WhatsApp.
Fake stories are spread by legions of online trolls and unsuspecting users,
which has a dangerous impact. A rumour spread through social media about
child kidnappers arriving in various parts of India has led to 33 deaths in
43
New Media and Society 69 incidents of mob violence since 2017, according to IndiaSpend, a data
journalism website.
Six months before the 2014 general elections in India, 62 people were killed
in sectarian violence, and 50,000 were displaced from their homes in the
northern state of Uttar Pradesh. Investigations by the police found that a
fake video was shared on WhatsApp to whip up sectarian passions.
In 2018, “horrified by terrible acts of violence,” WhatsApp limited the
number of chats that messages could be forwarded to in India from 256
users to five, and made it harder to forward images, audio clips, and videos
(Some of these restrictions have since been rolled out worldwide).
2.6.5 Characteristics of Millennials
Millennials, or Generation Y (born in the 1980s and 1990s) and Generation
Z (born in the 2000s) were the first generations to grow up with computers,
the Internet, and smartphones as integral parts of their everyday lives. These
“digital natives” spend an average of more than seven hours a day online,
on their smartphones, or multiple devices at the same time (PC, laptop,
tablet, and wearables).
The emerging digital media users are more active. While traditional media
is consumed passively, consumers now have enhanced opportunities to
share content, engage with content creators, participate in content, or even
facilitate or sponsor content creation.
The millennial customer journey is highly influenced by technology, more
so than any other generation. Millennials rely on having digital experiences
with their banks than personal ones. Compared to older generations,
millennials are most likely to use online- and mobile-banking channels due
to easy-to-use websites and great apps. Technology equals convenience for
millennials.
Investing in millennial engagement involves finding the right balance
between traditional and digital experiences. As the world becomes
increasingly more digital, opportunities to exceed millennial expectations
and prepare brand marketing for Gen Z consumers will grow.
Traditional advertising tactics do not influence millennials. There is a new
method of operation in response to millennials’ distaste for advertising as
well as their increased social-media use and thirst for new technology. This
powerful triad compels brands to keep pace with the latest trends in digital
marketing. A shift from traditional media to digital media is a prerequisite,
mainly social media websites and marketing on blogs and recommendation
websites.
Check Your Progress: 3
Note: 1) Use the space below for your answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this Unit.
1. What are the effects of digital media on society in the contemporary
world?
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
44
2. Explain briefly the characteristics of millennials who are also Digital Media and Society
considered digital natives.
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
3. How has digital media enhanced the scope of regional languages in
India?
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................

2.7 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit, we discussed the entrenchment of digital media in the society
which has revolutionised not only our personal, cultural, political, but
also our social spheres of life. We analysed and understood the difference
between online media, new media, and digital media, along with discussing
the characteristics of digital media such as digitality, interactivity,
hypertextual, dispersal, virtuality, and telepresence. We traced the evolution
and development of digital media enunciated with technological inventions
and advancements, which led to the dynamics of digital media as we
know today. We also explained a few related concepts and theories for
contextualising digital media in society.
Apart from the overview of digital media, we outlined the trends specific
to digital media- the emergence of cyber laws, net neutrality, the mobile
revolution, digital literacy initiatives, and development in the gaming sector.
Besides, the transformation within the spectrum of media due to the advent
of digital media was examined. In this context, the realms of convergence
and adaptation into digital media from traditional media were assessed,
which overlooked the technological, regulatory, and industrial perspectives
of change.
The revolution within the media playfield was also discussed along with
the trends of digital media pertinent to India in tandem with governance,
messaging, media corporates, artificial intelligence, and economy.
Furthermore, the dimension of the effects of digital media across the
ambit of society, politics, and economy was examined, primarily in the
milieu of cybercrime and security, privacy and surveillance, online hate,
disinformation and misinformation, and digital addiction.
To sum up, it can be said that digital media has revolutionised the notion
of media from the perspective of society as a whole, and it offers immense
possibilities of expansion across all the spheres of life. However, the scope
of digital media in society can be as adverse as it can be constructive.
Therefore, it is imperative for the stakeholders involved in the domain of
digital media to maintain check and balance for equilibrium in the impact
of digital media.

2.8 KEYWORDS
Augmented Reality (AR): an enhanced version of reality created by the
use of technology to add digital information on an image of something.
45
New Media and Society Digital Economy: an economy that focuses on digital technologies, i.e. it is
based on digital and computing technologies.
Digital Media: digitised content that can be transmitted over the internet or
computer networks.
e-Governance: application of Information and Communication Technologies
(ICTs) for delivering government services through the integration of various
stand-alone systems between Government-to-Citizens (G2C), Government-
to-Business (G2B), and Government-to-Government(G2G) services.
Over-the-Top (OTT) Media: film and television content provided via a
high-speed Internet connection rather than a cable or satellite provider.
Virtual Reality (VR): the use of computer technology to create a simulated
environment.

2.9 FURTHER READINGS

1. Dewdney, A., & Ride, P. (2013). The Digital Media Handbook.
London, CA: Routledge.
2. Lindgren, S. (2017). Digital media and society. Sage.
3. Lister, M., Dovey, J., Giddings, S., Kelly, K., & Grant, I. (2009).
New Media: A Critical Introduction. Oxfordshire, England: Taylor &
Francis.
4. Miller, V. (2011). Understanding Digital Culture. Thousand Oaks,
CA: SAGE.
5. Ralph Schroeder (2018) Towards a theory of digital media,
Information, Communication & Society, 21:3, 323-339. https://doi.or
g/10.1080/1369118X.2017.1289231.
6. Siapera, E. (2017). Understanding New Media. Thousand Oaks, CA:
SAGE.
7. Singer, J. (2016). Transmission Creep: Media Effects Theories and
Journalism Studies in a Digital Era. Journalism Studies. https://doi.or
g/10.1080/1461670X.2016.1186498

2.10 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS: POSSIBLE ANSWER

Check Your Progress: 1
1. The concept of digital media arises from the characteristic that all
information or data in these media is encoded in numbers, the most
common being that of binary code of 0 and 1. Thus, technology is the
defining dimension of the media which observes the shift of storing
information digitally on a physical object, for example, USB flash
drive, digital images, MP3, etc.
2. Characteristics of Digital Media:
Digital
Interactive
Hypertext
Dispersal

46
 Virtual Digital Media and Society

Telepresence
3. Actor-Network Theory denotes the relationship between humans,
systems, and machines in computer networked communications.
Actor-Network Theory (ANT) originated in the social sciences in
studies of scientific and technological practices and networks and is
mostly associated with the work of Bruno Latour. Latour defines both
human and non-human elements and structures in the environment
as actors who can make other features dependent upon themselves.
Actors have interests that can come into alignment with different
actors’ interests to form an actor-network. Both humans and non-
humans may be ‘actants’ in a network made up of social groups,
entities, and artefacts which then become enlisted to reinforce a
position within a network. ANT argues that nature and society are
consequences, not causes of human scientific and technical work.
Check Your Progress: 2
1. Prominent trends of digital media in India:
●● The emergence of Cyber Law
●● Net Neutrality
●● Mobile Revolution
●● Digital Literacy Initiative
●● Gaming
2. Forms of convergence in digital media:
●● Technological convergence
●● Regulatory convergence
●● Industrial convergence
3. Digital media revolutionised the political domain: e-Governance,
regulatory convergence, cyber laws. Digital media revolutionised
the economic domain: digital media corporates, digital economy,
industrial convergence.
Check Your Progress: 3
1. Effects of digital media:
●● Cybercrime and security
●● Privacy and surveillance
●● Online hate
●● Disinformation and Misinformation
●● Digital Addiction
2. Characteristics of Millennials:
●● Digital natives
●● Active users of digital media
●● The convenience of digital media for banking

47
New Media and Society ●● Share content, engage with content creators, and participate in
content creation
●● Digital marketing and brand marketing for millennials
●● Social media websites and marketing for recommendations
3. Scope of regional languages in digital media:
●● Regional language content on digital media platforms
●● Original content creation on OTT platforms
●● OTT platforms tying up with major production houses for rights
of films
●● Regional languages on digital music streaming industry
●● Digital marketing in regional languages gaining prominence
●● Localisation of websites

48
 UNIT 3 : ISSUES OF ACCESS AND
PARTICIPATION
Structure
3.0 Introduction
3.1 Learning Outcomes
3.2 Digital (In)Equality: Conceptual Framework
3.3 Evolution and Development of ICT
3.3.1 Evolution of ICT
3.3.2 ICT Technologies
3.4 Growth and Diffusion of ICT
3.4.1 Growth of ICTs
3.5 Digital Divide
3.5.1 Determinants of Digital Divide in India
3.5.2 Implications of Digit Divide
3.6 Initiatives to Bridge the Digital Divide in India
3.7 Let Us Sum Up
3.8 Keywords
3.9 Further Readings
3.10 Check Your Progress: Possible Answers

3.0 INTRODUCTION
The digital media system has been in existence for the past 25 year in India.
We have experienced these digital media as luxury gadgets and services in
the initial phases, but later they became a part of life for many, if not for all.
While there were more concerns about the physical access to Information
and Communication Technology (ICT) in the initial stage, later the divide
between ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’ has significantly changed into digital
(in)equality as the access and usage are increasing which is becoming a
significant issue of concern.
The developed countries have reached a saturation point in terms of the
penetration of ICT, however, the developing countries are witnessing vast
inequalities within the nation. Most urban centres are highly saturated
compared to semi-urban and rural areas. Interestingly, higher growth rates
of penetration, access, and usage are being observed in semi-urban and rural
areas.
There is a need to pay close attention and scrutiny to the access and
participation of users of digital media in the Indian context. Digital
inequalities are major concerns beyond physical access. There is a need for
quality internet connection, availability of regional language content and its
relevance, opportunities to utilise the ICT tools for routine work, and more
importantly the skills and competencies of users to interact with the various
ICT tools in order to maximise the benefits of digital media.

49
New Media and Society After reading this Unit, you will be able to learn about the growth and
diffusion of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) in India.
This Unit seeks to develop an understanding of the concepts, definitions,
nature, roles, functions, diffusion, and access to ICT. The term ‘ICT’ is used
here in a broader sense and emphasises how ICT tools -- fixed-line phone,
mobile-cellular phone, and the Internet have diffused and is being accessed
across the country. The Unit also discusses how the digital divide still exists
between rural and urban areas, and across the states. The key initiatives
taken by both governments and private organisations to bridge the digital
divide in the country has also been touched upon.

3.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES

After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
●● understand the conceptual frameworks of digital inequalities;
●● describe the evolution, nature, and the developmental role of ICT;
●● trace the growth and diffusion of ICT in the global context;
●● discuss the determinants of digital divide; and
●● describe the impact of the digital divide and initiatives to bridge it in
the Indian context

3.2 DIGITAL (IN)EQUALITY - CONCEPTUAL

FRAMEWORKS
Digital inequality is the latest connotative term associated with an earlier
concept called the digital divide, which explains that there is uneven
distribution, access, and participation of digital infrastructure in the society.
There are two concepts linked together in ‘digital inequality’ — digital refers
to the technological resources pertinent to Information and Communication
Technology (ICT), and inequality denotes the unevenness in accessing and
participating with the ICT resources. In a related context, we can refer to
one of the frequently quoted definitions of the Organization for Economic
Co-operation and Development (OECD) on the digital divide in order to
understand its relevance in today’s context. OECD (2003) defines the
digital divide as “The gap between individuals, households, businesses, and
geographic areas at different socio-economic levels with regard to both their
opportunities to access information and communication technologies and
their use of the Internet for a wide variety of activities.”
According to Van Dijk (2017), the digital divide needs to have much
more clarity. Dijk says, “In fact, it is a metaphor that has inspired at least
four misunderstandings. First, the metaphor suggests a simple distinction
between two divided groups with a yawning gap between them. Second,
it suggests that this gap is difficult to bridge. Third, it can imply absolute
inequalities between those who are included and those who are excluded,
whereas inequalities are of a more relative kind. Finally, the digital divide is
not a static and permanent condition.”
As we discussed in the previous Unit on the status of digital media
penetration in India, according to TRAI 2020 data, we have nearly 51%
50
of the Internet and 87% of mobile penetration. Nevertheless, if you dissect Issues of Access and
these percentages further, you will find significant disparities between Participation
locations of residence like urban or rural, or on a gender basis, at the level
of Internet connections, on the types of computing/mobile devices used
and its quality, on the availability of regional language content and more
importantly users’ skills and competencies in using digital devices and
particularly the relevance of these devices for personal usages.
However, three essential dimensions need to be considered while assessing
digital inequality — access to networks, competencies to use devices and
relevance as well as usage of digital platforms. Digital inequality is not
about the physical presence or absence of network platforms. However,
beyond that, several factors are determining the quality of access,
competencies, and relevance, like economic conditions, geographical
locations, educational background, age, family background, availability of
regional content, occupation, literacy, and technical skill sets, etc. Hence,
digital inequality is a socio-economic issue, as those who have better access
to ICT tend to get more benefits. On the other hand, groups that lack better
access and necessary digital competencies and skills tend to spend more
time with entertainment content, as they lack the skills to use ICT tools for
their professional or political usage. In the global context, the developed
countries are in a better position to implement newer ICT tools quickly due
to their political structure, economic conditions, market structure, and better
investment in research and development (R&D) sectors. Many developing
countries fail to meet if not all, many of these factors, and hence it affects
them to roll out the latest technology to boost communication infrastructure.
Huang and Chen (2010) observed that “There is no universal trend — the
severity of the divide decreases in some cases, but it increases in others.”
Mossberger, Tolbert, and Stansbury (2003) have reformulated the digital
divide further into four-forms of divides - the access divide, skills divide,
economic opportunity divide, and democratic divide. According to them,
“The access divide includes the location of computer and internet use and
the frequency of internet users in each location. The skill divide is measured
in terms of technical competencies and digital literacy. The economic
opportunity divides are conceptualised as experiences, beliefs, and attitudes
regarding computers and economic advancement. Finally, the democratic
divide is defined as attitudes and experiences regarding internet use for
political activities.”
Schweitzer (2015) further categorised the digital divide into many levels,
— “The digital divide encompasses differences in both access (first-level
digital divide) and usage (second-level digital divide) of computers and
the Internet between (1) industrialised and developing countries (global
divide), (2) various socio-economic groups within single nation-states
(social divide), and (3) different kinds of users with regard to their political
engagement on the Internet (democratic divide).”
If you keenly observe the historical developments of the emergence of digital
inequalities since the 1990s, you will notice that in the earlier period (1995-
2000), the majority of the discussion happened around physical access to ICT
infrastructure, between 2000-2005 the competencies and skills dominated
the discussion, and in last one decade, the focus area is being shifted to
51
New Media and Society relevance and usage of ICT for the public as well as private purposes. Yet
another set of divisions happened in the discourse of digital inequality over
the period — horizontal versus vertical perspectives of digital inequalities.
The horizontal perspective delves into the quantitative dimension of digital
inequalities, such as the quantum of ICT infrastructure and its affordability
and accessibility at the individual, national and international levels. Whereas
in a vertical perspective, the qualitative dimension of digital inequalities
is interpreted in terms of competencies, skills, usages, and outcome of its
usage.
Digital inequality or digital divide is being extensively scrutinised from
diverse basic as well as applied research perspectives over the past two
decades. Access to communication technology and usage of ICT tools
are mostly studied from the media studies discipline, and perception and
motivations are focal points from psychology perspectives, inequality, and
its related issues from the sociological point of view and media information
literacy from pedagogical perspectives.
Van Dijk quotes the theoretical evolution of academic works related
to digital inequalities that give a broader framework for understanding
this crucial area from the research point of view. He says, “In social and
communication science, these stages of access are dealt with by technology
acceptance theories. Most psychological theories such as the technology
acceptance model and the theory of planned behaviour deal with access
focusing on motivation and attitudes. Examples are perceived usefulness,
ease of use, and subjective norms that affect behavioural intention to gain
access to digital media. As soon as acceptance reaches the stage of decision-
making, adoption theories such as diffusion of innovation are used. These are
theories more rooted in sociology and communication and focus on social
and contextual factors. In the post-adoption stages (initial and continuous
use), social, cultural, and communication theories figure examples include
domestication theory, uses and gratification theory, and social cognitive
theory, leading to the model of media attendance.”
Van Dijk (2017) has proposed a model of the resources and appropriation
theory. The main aspects of this theory are:
1. Categorical inequalities in society produce an unequal distribution of
resources.
2. An unequal distribution of resources causes unequal access to digital
technologies.
3. Unequal access to digital technologies also depends on the
characteristics of these technologies.
4. Unequal access to digital technologies brings about unequal
participation in society.
5. Unequal participation in society reinforces categorical inequalities
and unequal distributions of resources.
With the above theoretical understanding of digital inequalities, let us
examine the ICT access and participation from the Indian perspective.

3.3 EVOLUTION AND DEVELOPMENT OF ICT

All of us would agree that we cannot imagine living in a modern society
without using Information and Communication Technology (ICT). Most of
52
us use the Internet, mobile phones, computers, and smartphones, and these Issues of Access and
ICT tools have become an integral part of our daily lives. They have also Participation
integrated into every aspect of our business economic activities.
3.3.1 Evolution of ICT
The information age began in the mid-nineteen century after the industrial
age when the work process starts involving the creation, distribution, and
application of information. It has evolved in phases from a society having
radio as the primary source of information to television as a popular source
of information and entertainment. Later, we moved to the wireless age or
digital age of mobile phones, personnel computers, and the Internet. Over
the years, these changes in technologies have dramatically transformed the
sources and flow of information. The sizes of technological tools have reduced
drastically, and the speed to operate and process data and communication
of information has also increased manifolds. We can identify the following
five phases of ICT evolution.
The first phase of ICT evolution started with the creation of electromagnetic
calculators during the Second World War(1939-45) followed by the
invention of transistors in 1947, which led to the development of smaller
but handy computers. With the changing technologies of input and output
devices from punch cards to magnetic tapes, “Computer” gained popularity.
The second phase of ICT evolution is associated with the development
of personal computers during the 1970s. The development of chip
technology and manufacturing magnetic discs transformed huge computers
into desktops, which are called personal computers. Word processing,
accounting, and graphics became accessible.
The third phase of ICT evolution is related to the development of
microprocessors. A microprocessor, a multipurpose, programmable device
that accepts digital data as input, processes it according to instructions stored
in its memory and provides results as output. Microprocessors reduced the
cost of processing power.
The fourth phase of ICT evolution is around networking. Starting from
connecting computers within a small geographic area for use in the field of
Defence and Education to connecting the computers worldwide, resulting
on the Internet is the landmark development in the field of ICT. This resulted
in breaking the distance barrier across the geographies, and the world is
called a global village. Social networking is a by-product of this worldwide
connection. The introduction of broadband has accelerated this evolution.
The fifth phase of ICT evolution is related to the development of wireless,
which refers to the present phase. This phase began with the invention of
the mobile phone. The initial mobile phones were large and bulky. A greatly
expanded range of functions has accompanied a reduction in size with the
advent of smartphones. Now mobile phones, particularly smartphones, are
used for talking, transmitting messages, pictures, and music, browsing,
navigating, etc.
3.3.2 ICT Technologies
There is a range of technologies that fall under the category of ICT—
from traditional to modern communication systems. Some of the standard
information and communication technologies are given in Table 1, which
presents ICT technologies and their roles or functions.

53
New Media and Society Table 1: Technologies and Functions of Information and Communication
Technologies
ICT Technologies Roles/Functions
(Information)
Personal Computers, Digital camera, Scanner, Creation
Smartphone
Calculator, PC, Smartphone Processing
CD, DVD, Pen Drive, Microchip, Cloud Storage
PC, TV, Projector, Smartphone, Display
Internet, Teleconference, Video conferencing, Mobile Transmission
technology, Radio
E-mail, Mobile-cellular phone Exchange
3.3.3 Developmental Role of ICT
Information and Communications Technologies (ICT) play an important
role in the development process as it contributes towards national income or
GDP and improves people’s living standards by facilitating access to more
livelihood opportunities, and global information. It promises a fundamental
change in all aspects of our lives, including knowledge dissemination,
social interaction, economic and business practices, political engagement,
media, education, health, leisure, and entertainment. Some of the vital
developmental roles of ICT are summarised in Table 2.
Table 2: Developmental Role with ICT tools
Development Role ICT-Tools
Improved life mobile phone, telecenters,
●● Better health services health information systems
●● Better education services
●● Better economic opportunities
Improved government services e-government services,
●● Efficient services to citizens geographical information
systems
●● Visible direct services
●● Better planning and implementation of
infrastructure
Enhanced internal economic activities Internet & mobile banking,
●● Better financial services to citizens and e-commerce; agriculture
business information for marketing,
weather, and others
●● More efficient enterprises
●● Improved efficiency in the vital sector of
agriculture
Improved civil society Records on land reform
●● Increased efficiency Local information through
ICTs e-services applications
●● Reduced corruption to provide broader
●● Improved social and political participation information on welfare
of poor and disadvantaged groups (women, schemes to civil society
slums, remote/rural), Transparent information
●● Information as a means to effect negative access through the Internet,
attitudes such as apathy and indifference websites, applications or
mobile messages, etc.

54
Check Your Progress: 1 Issues of Access and
Participation
Note: 1) Use the space below for your answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this Unit.
1. Explain the characteristics of digital inequalities?
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
2. Trace the historical development of ICT?
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
3. Describe three broad applications for ICT technologies?
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................
..............................................................................................................

3.4 GROWTH AND DIFFUSION OF ICT

The impact of ICT can be seen within the perspectives of two interrelated
aspects: diffusion and growth. While growth refers to the expansion of ICT
such as the number of mobile phones and Internet subscribers, diffusion
refers to the distribution of ICTs use across people from different places
like rural-urban, developed-underdeveloped regions, rich-poor people, and
other disadvantaged people-women, handicapped, socially included—SC
and STs, etc. The diffusion part affects human welfare such as education,
health, socio-economic development of people, economic growth, increased
productivity, and competitiveness in different sectors of the economy. In this
section, we are focusing on the growth and diffusion of ICTs technologies,
particularly landline phones, mobile phones, and the Internet.
3.4.1 Growth of ICTs
Fixed-Phone and Mobile-Cellular Phone
We can see from Table 3 that the fixed-line phone subscribers were at a
peak in the early 2000s and started declining after it, while mobile phone
penetration gained movement during the same period. The fixed-line phone
subscribers globally declined (1243 million in 2005 to 1004 million in
2016), on the other hand, the cellular phone subscribers increased more than
three times during the same period (2205 million in 2005 to 7511 million
in 2016). The growth of cellular phone subscribers is significantly higher
in developing countries (1213 million in 2005 to 5909 million in 2016)
compared to the developed world, (992 million in 2005 to 1603 in 2016).
This is because building telephone infrastructure was difficult in remote and
rural areas in most of the developing countries like India, which has adopted
cellular phones in more significant numbers. The majority of the fixed phone
(41 per cent) and mobile-cellular phone (54 per cent) subscribers reside in
Asia & the Pacific, but the penetration rates are low compared to other parts
of the world.

55
New Media and Society Table 3: Growth of Fixed Line Phone and Mobile Phone Subscribers
(Tele density)
Millions Per 100 inhabitants
2005 2010 2015 2016 2005 2010 2015 2016
Fixed-Phone
Developed 570 553 490 479 47.2 44.6 39.0 38.1
Developing 673 676 556 524 12.7 11.9 9.2 8.5
World 1,243 1,229 1,046 1,004 19.1 17.8 14.3 13.6
Asia & Pacific 559 553 439 410 15.1 14.2 10.8 10.0
Mobile-Cellular
Developed 992 1,404 1,563 1,603 82.1 113.3 124.5 127.3
Developing 1,213 3,887 5,621 5,909 22.9 68.5 92.7 96.3
World 2,205 5,290 7,184 7,511 33.9 76.6 98.2 101.5
Asia & Pacific 833 2,614 3,778 4,070 22.6 67.3 92.6 98.9
Source: ITU, 2018
We can further see from Table 3, the penetration rate of the fixed-line phone
and mobile-cellular phone as is measured by tele-density (phone per 100
people). Similar to the subscribers, the tele-density of fixed-line phones
declined from 19.1 per cent in 2005 to 13.6 per cent in 2016. Similar trends
were also observed both in developed, developing countries and Asia &
Pacific. On the other hand, the teledensity of mobile phones increased almost
three times, from 33.9 per cent to 101.5 per cent during the same period.
In particular, the developing countries (22.9 per cent in 2005 to 96.3 per
cent in 2016) have benefited most by mobile phone (82.1 per cent in 2005
to 127.2 per cent in 2016) with a higher rise of its subscribers compared to
developed countries, which had already reached 82 per cent tele-density in
2005.
India’s telecom (mobile phone and fixed services) subscribers increased
from 0.1 million in 1947 to 5 million in 1991 and 29 million in 2000 to
1183.5 million by 2019 (Table 4). It is the second-biggest mobile market
in the world in terms of subscribers, second only to China. Indian telecom
subscribers account for 28 per cent of Asia Pacific’s total telecom subscribers
and 15 per cent of the global subscriber base (ITU, 2018). Mobile phones
have mainly contributed to the phenomenal growth of phone services during
the last decade, which crossed the fixed-line phone subscribers in 2004.
Presently the mobile phone segment (1161.8 million) dwarfs the fixed
segment (21.7 million) by a ratio of 53:1. The mobile phone subscribers
constitute 98 per cent and have increased by almost 16 times between 2005
and 2019. Today India is ranked second in the world in terms of mobile
phone subscribers ( India is ranked second after China (TRAI, 2018)),
which is attributed to various factors such as low prices of services, rise
in people’s income, competition, and the introduction of micro prepaid
connection and low handset prices (Guha & Kaushal, 2010). Mobile phone
subscriber annual growth rate has fluctuated from high at 13 per cent in
2010-11 to negative (-7 per cent) in 2012-13 and only 1 per cent in 2017-18
and witnessed negative growth during 2018-19 period.
56
Table 4: Telecom Subscribers (in millions) in India, 2019 Issues of Access and
Participation
Year Fixed Phone Mobile-Phone Total
2000 27 2 29
2005 49 76 124
2010 35 752 787
2011 34 866 900
2012 32 929 961
2013 30 868 898
2014 29 905 933
2015 27 970 996
2016 25 1034 1059
2017 24 1170 1195
2018 23 1183 1206
2019 21.7 1161.8 1183.5
Source: TRAI, 2019
However, this fluctuation in growth was mainly due to the removal
of inactive subscribers by the operators to improve their operational
performance and compliance with subscriber verification norms. TRAI
introduced registration of active users via Visitor Location Register (VLR),
and the estimated number was around 50 per cent of the total subscribers
in 2011. [The regulator measures the number of active subscribers via its
Visitor Location Register (VLR), a temporary database of subscribers who
have roamed in a particular area. Exactly one VLR serves each base station
in the network; hence a subscriber cannot be present at more than one VLR
at a time. VLR data is calculated based on the date of Peak VLR of the
particular month and gauged from the switches having a purge time of not
more than 72 hours (TRAI, 2018).]
This is due to the overestimation of subscribers, inactive connections, and
usage of multiple Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) cards. About 35 per
cent of mobile connections were inactive, and 15 per cent had multiple SIMs
either on the same phone or in different phones. Applying filters of inactive
users and multiple SIM holders, it translates that about only half of the total
subscribers were active in 2011. Over the years, after shedding off inactive
subscribers by the operators, still, 16 per cent of the total subscribers were
inactive in March 2018. The decline in mobile phone subscribers in the
recent period was the consolidation of the market after the entry of Reliance
Jio, several small operators have either merged or exited from the market.
Internet-Broadband
Internet penetration has picked in recent years mainly after the entry of
wireless Internet. Wireline Internet subscribers increased more than four
times, from 220 million in 2005 to 917 million in 2016 globally (Table 5).
The rate of growth is significantly higher in developing countries (71 million
to 535 million) than in the developed countries (148 million to 382 million)
during the same period. The active wireless Internet subscribers increased
rapidly in recent years, from 807 million in 2010 to 3864 million in 2016 in
57
New Media and Society the world. The pace of active wireless Internet subscribers’ growth is also
higher in developing countries compared to that of the developed world.
However, the overall penetration rate of wireline Internet (12.4 per cent)
and wireless Internet (52.2 per cent) was far less in developing countries
(8.7 per cent and 43.6 per cent) compared to developed ones (30.3 per
cent and 94.4 per cent) in 2016. The Asia & Pacific region also shows a
low penetration rate of both wireless Internet (47.4 per cent) and wireline
internet (11.3 per cent).
Table 5: Internet-Broadband (Subscribers)
Per 100 inhabitants
(Millions)
(Tele-density)
2005 2010 2015 2016 2005 2010 2015 2016
Active Wireless-Internet subscriptions
Developed NA 554 1,118 1,189 NA 44.7 89.1 94.4
Developing NA 253 2,179 2,676 NA 4.5 36.0 43.6
World NA 807 3,297 3,864 NA 11.5 45.1 52.2
Asia & Pacific NA 286 1,554 1,951 NA 7.4 38.1 47.4
Wireline Internet subscriptions
Developed 148 291 370 382 12.3 23.5 29.5 30.3
Developing 71 236 472 535 1.3 4.2 7.8 8.7
World 220 526 842 917 3.4 7.6 11.5 12.4
Asia & Pacific 80 214 408 463 2.2 5.5 10.0 11.3

NA=Not Available; Source: ITU, 2018

In India, the Internet was started first by Videsh Sanchar Nigam Limited
(VSNL) in 1995 via dial-up services in six cities. Moreover, the pace of
internet penetration was very slow at only 0.1 per cent in 1999 due to the
high price of the services and low penetration of landline phones. The
Internet penetration rate picked up only after an increase in the number of
Internet service providers in 2006 and the availability of wireless Internet
networks and smartphones in recent years. Currently, India has over 493
million Internet subscribers, making it the second-largest Internet user in
the world, ranked only behind China. Over the last few years, an increase
in Internet penetration has been driven mainly by wireless Internet with the
availability of cheaper smartphones.
The number of Internet subscribers in the country increased at an annual
growth rate of 43 per cent, with the number reaching 604 million in
2019 from 5.6 million in 2000 and 92.5 million in 2010 (Table 6). This
growth is attributed to wireless Internet with cheaper smartphones, faster
connectivity, and affordable services. Wireless Internet subscribers in the
country witnessed rapid growth and reached at 604 million compared to 21
million wired Internet subscribers. This indicates that the wireless Internet
is mainly responsible for rapid internet penetration growth in recent years.

58
Table 6: Internet Subscribers (in a million) and Penetration (in Issues of Access and
percentage) Participation

Year Internet Penetration (%) Total Indian

subscribers Population
1994 0 0.00 945
1995 0.29 0.03 963
1996 0.49 0.05 982
1997 0.7 0.07 1000
1998 1.43 0.14 1019
1999 2.8 0.27 1038
2000 5.59 0.53 1056
2005 27.4 2.39 1147
2010 92.55 7.5 1234
2011 125.88 10.07 1250
2012 159.14 12.58 1265
2013 193.28 15.1 1280
2014 233.1 18 1295
2015 353.7 27 1310
2016 422 31.87 1324
2017 445.96 33.33 1338
2018 493.96 36.54 1352
2019 604.21 44.23 1366
Source: From World Bank from 1994 to 2015; from TRAI, 2016-2019;
Population data from World Bank

3.5 DIGITAL DIVIDE

Diffusion of ICT: Digital Divide
The debates on the ‘information gap’ started with the rising penetration of
ICTs across the world. The information gap between the developed and
developing countries was initially observed in the early 1990s, which gave
birth to the term ‘digital divide’. Similarly, Singh (2010), described ‘digital
divide’ stating that “It is a situation in which there is a substantial gap in
access to the use of ICTs devices measured, for example, by the number of
fixed-line phones per hundred inhabitants or number of mobile phone users;
or the internet users in the population.” Hanimann and Ruedin explain the
digital divide in terms of geographical digital divide-between regions,
countries, and within countries.
In the context of India, the ‘digital divide’ across rural-urban and inter-
state is crucial. It plays a crucial role in the socio-economic development
process and in changing the pattern of people’s lives. Also, in the case of
India, the urban-rural and intra-state ‘digital divide has been discussed in
the subsequent sections indicated by mobile phone and Internet subscribers.
Rural-Urban Digital Divide
It is clear from Table 7 that the rural and urban ‘digital divide’ indicated by
tele-density (mobile phone & fixed phone) is widening over time. Although
59
New Media and Society there has been an increase in rural tele-density since 2000, that increase
is much less when compared to the urban tele-density. Thus rural-urban
tele-density gap has increased from 7 points in 2000 to 131 in 2012 and
reduced at 106 in 2018; thereby indicating that the information revolution
in the case of India is more of an urban phenomenon. This demonstrates that
the success story of the Indian telecom sector is partial, and the diffusion
of services is uneven in rural and urban India. The rural (59 per cent) tele-
density is around one-third to that of urban (165 per cent), albeit the former
is home to nearly 70 per cent of India’s total population (Census, 2011). In
other words, one can say that about 70 per cent of the people are covered by
only 59 per cent of phone connections.
Table 7: Digital Divide: Tele-Density by Rural-Urban
Year Total Rural Urban
2000 3 1 8
2005 11 2 27
2010 66 31 148
2011 73 35 161
2012 79 39 170
2013 73 41 147
2014 75 44 146
2015 79 48 149
2016 83 51 154
2017 93 57 172
2018 93 59 165
Source: TRAI, 2018
Internet subscribers in India have been increasing rapidly with more people
from rural areas getting hooked to the wireless or mobile Internet. However,
despite the recent growth of Internet connections in rural areas, there is still
a difference between urban and rural areas. Only 16 per cent of Internet
users are in rural areas as compared to 85 per cent in urban areas (Table 8).
This rural-urban Internet divide is widening from 36 points in 2015 to 69
points in 2018.
Table 8: Digital Divide: Internet Penetration (%) by Rural-Urban
Year Total Rural Urban
2005 0.5 - -
2010 7 - -
2011 9 - -
2012 11 - -
2013 14 - -
2014 20 - -
2015 24 13 49
2016 26 13 58
2017 33 15 71
2018 38 16 85
Source: DOT, 2018
60
Regional (States) Digital Divide Issues of Access and
Participation
Table 9 shows that the tele-density of less developed states such as Assam,
Bihar, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh is lower than the more developed
or industrialised states like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab,
and Delhi. Further, the rural-urban divide is also more pronounced in less
developed states, which is reflecting the widening gaps across states in the
country as far as income and wealth are considered (Mani, 2012).
Table 9: Major State/UT-wise Tele-density - as on September 2019:
State/UT Total Rural Urban
Andhra Pradesh 98.10 63.86 185.83
Assam 71.64 44.46 205.05
Bihar 59.72 43.97 157.10
Chhattisgarh* 66.2 42.1 137.1
Goa* 128.0 156.9 112.0
Gujarat 105.78 73.03 149.17
Haryana 98.85 73.31 140.60
Himachal Pradesh 149.16 113.77 403.32
Jammu & Kashmir 89.19 53.33 178.58
Jharkhand* 63.1 41.9 130.0
Karnataka 110.97 68.74 174.22
Kerala 128.25 79.55 272.99
Madhya Pradesh 79.28 43.64 138.61
Maharashtra 107.64 71.02 144.50
Odisha 75.86 59.67 147.55
Punjab 127.22 80.79 182.07
Rajasthan 86.68 58.86 173.08
Sikkim* 107.0 65.4 336.9
Tamil Nadu 117.21 89.62 133.22
Uttar Pradesh 68.91 49.22 133.55
Uttarakhand 111.3 72.9 199.5
West Bengal 86.09 54.57 163.50
Delhi* 185.3 225.2 183.9
Total 90.52 57.59 160.63
TRAI, 2019 (data for * from 2018)
Similar to the high penetration rate of telecom services, Internet subscribers
rate is more in urbanised or industrialised states like Maharashtra, Gujarat,
Tamil Nadu, and Karnataka compared to less developed states such as
Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Rajasthan, West Bengal, Madhya Pradesh
and Assam (Table 10). The growth rate of urban internet users is higher as
compared to that of rural internet users.

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New Media and Society Table 10: Major State/UT-wise Internet subscribers (in a million)
Urban and Rural division (%), 2020
Major State/UT Total (in a Rural % Urban %
million)
Andhra Pradesh 53.80 40.04 59.96
Assam 13.03 50.42 49.58
Bihar 43.88 57.80 42.20
Delhi 38.53 1.92 98.08
Gujarat 42.61 28.28 71.72
Haryana 16.02 38.40 61.60
Himachal Pradesh 5.60 60.80 39.20
Jammu Kashmir 4.88 35.00 65.00
Karnataka 43.68 32.80 67.20
Kerala 25.97 39.55 60.45
Madhya Pradesh 44.44 38.39 61.61
Maharashtra 57.59 38.47 61.53
Odisha 17.62 59.70 40.30
Punjab 24.69 29.90 70.10
Rajasthan 39.21 43.94 56.06
Tamil Nadu 48.46 27.80 72.20
Uttar Pradesh(E+W) 84.13 44.15 55.85
West Bengal 30.31 48.50 51.50
India 687.62 36.00 64.00
Source: TRAI, 2020
3.5.1 Determinants of Digital Divide in India
The above analysis made it clear that there is a huge digital divide in rural-
urban and inter-state in India. Rural India is significantly lagging behind
urban India in the use of ICTs. Similarly, many less developed states like
north-eastern states, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Orissa, Chhattisgarh,
and Assam are lagging behind the more developed states such as Maharashtra,
Gujarat, Karnataka in access and diffusion of ICTs technologies. India is a
multi-cultural, multi-linguistic, and multi-religious country with complex
socio-economic conditions. The use of ICT technology correlates with
several economic and social aspects. The following are some of the critical
determinants of the digital divide in India.
●● Availability of reliable ICT infrastructure: Many villages in rural and
remote India are still without electricity and other ICT infrastructure
facilities.
●● Accessibility of digital Information: Poor mobile phone connectivity
and low internet access is the barrier for information access.
●● Education /digital capacity/skills: Level of education, mainly digital
literacy or skill among a large number of people, is still low.
●● Poverty: Income disparity is very high in India, resulting in low
purchasing power and denied access to smartphones, Internet
connection, and other ICTs technologies.
62
●● Local Content and languages: Lack of relevant information and Issues of Access and
contents in the local language is a significant issue for Indian masses. Participation
Most of the information is available in the English language, and
hence, people who do not know English are likely to be deprived of
information usage.
3.5.2 Implications of Digital Divide
The above discussed issues of the ‘digital divide’ are needed to be tackled
properly, otherwise, it can pose serious socio-economic implications on those
who do not have access to it. The following are some of the implications of
the digital divide:
●● Low Economic Development and Social Interest: Economic
development of the country at various levels would be misbalanced,
which will cause social issues.
●● High Poverty: Inequality of income within the society
●● Lack of Information: Most of the people do not have access to
knowledge through the Internet as they do not understand the web
content, which is not written in regional languages.
●● Low level of Education/Skills: Negative impact on basic literacy rate
and advanced or higher education among people is severely affected
●● Unemployment: Unemployment among people who are not digitally
competent is very high.
Check Your Progress: 2
Note: 1) Use the space below for your answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this Unit.
Fill in the blanks:
1. Developing countries have ………….. Internet access rate than
developed countries.
2. India stands at second behind……………in terms of ……………
subscribers in the world.
3. Three main determinants of the digital divide are
1.………………………….…2.………………………………3.……
…….…………….

3.6 INITIATIVES TO BRIDGE ‘DIGITAL DIVIDE’ IN

INDIA
In the above context, there is a need to take several steps to bridge the
digital divide in India such as making ICT accessible to all, universalising
education including digital education/skills, government support, and
favourable policies, promoting e-governance, e-health, e-education,
and others initiatives. The Ministry of Information & Communication
Technology (MCIT) has taken many steps to ensure that the benefits of ICT
technologies reach the common man residing in rural and remote areas of
the country.

63
New Media and Society The MCIT ensured a proper regulatory framework to reign on the digital
divide with the passage of the ‘Information Technology Act’ in the year
2000, open data initiatives, and data sharing Policy 2012, which gave a
fillip to information technology and e-Governance activities and projects
countrywide. Further enactment of the ‘Right of Information Bill’ in 2002
and ‘Right to Information Act 2004’ by the Parliament in 2005 sets out
the practical regime for people to secure access to information under the
control of public authorities in order to promote openness, transparency,
and accountability.
In the last couple of decades, there have been several initiatives taken by
the public as well as private bodies to bridge the digital divide in India.
Broadly we may categorise these activities under state promoted and private
promoted initiatives. It is difficult to put forward all such initiatives in this
Unit, however, some important initiatives are listed below.
Table 11 : Select Public and Private Initiatives to Bridge the Digital
Divide
Initiatives Services
E-Chaupal: This was one of The information provided to farmers
the largest initiatives by Indian regarding inputs, technology, purchase, and
Tobacco Company (ITC) sale of their produce at their doorsteps and
Limited in 2000 to provide purchase of farm produce from the farmers’
information to farmers on doorsteps helped an estimated 4 million
market prices of crops, new farm people.
practices in the local language,
etc. It was initiated in 40,000
villages through 6,500 kiosks in
10 States of India.

Drishtee: It was initiated as a The telephone services offered through

service provided to connect rural kiosks in the project had helped the digital
people with the rest of India by inclusion of rural people residing in around
providing a mobile kiosk-based 2000 villages.
telephone and initiated in 2000
in villages of Haryana, Punjab,
Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, and
Orissa.
Kissan Call Centre (KCC): To answer farmers’ queries, facilitate them to
Ministry of Agriculture, manage their crops better, and also make them
Government of India initiated aware of the availability of new agriculture
KCC in 2004 in 14 different technology. It has helped millions of farmers
locations covering all the States across the country.
and UTs to answer the farmers’ .
queries in 22 languages through
a toll-free telephone number
accessible through mobile phone
and landlines telephone.

64
 Issues of Access and
Life Line India (LLI): One This service provided under the LLI was not
Participation
World initiated it, a charitable only vital for delivering prompt services to
organization with Cisco in farmers but also resulted in the improvement
November 2006, to provide of their crop quality and efficiency. This
phone-based information resulted in an increase in their profits by up to
services to farmers and provide 150 per cent. The services proved the value of
expert advice on agriculture digital inclusion by educating rural farmers.
and animal husbandry related
queries in 700 villages. All that
the farmers needed to do was to
dial the Life-lines India number
from a community telephone.
National E-Governance Plan The services provided under the initiative
(NeGP) was initiated by the covered 100 per cent electronic filing,
Government of India in May 2006 electronic payment mechanisms, and the
to make all government services use of digital signature certificates for all
available to the citizens of the transactions.
country via electronic media.
Digital India: This is a flagship Under the scheme now villages have been
programme of the Indian connected through broadband services. Direct
government initiated in the year electronic–payment is being made for most
2015. Under Digital India, the of the beneficiaries of government schemes.
government has emphasised the the standard services centres run various
creation of digital infrastructure, citizen-centric services in rural areas such as
digital literacy, and delivery the issuance of birth certificate, aadhar, death
of services through digital or certificate, and others have been helping the
electronic mode. villagers a lot.

Check Your Progress: 3

Note: 1) Use the space below for your answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this Unit.
Fill in the blanks:
1) The right to information act promotes ............................ and
accountability in the working of the government.
2) Under Digital India initiatives, most of the villages in the country have
access to ...................... centre to get various citizen-centric services.
3) KCC provides ................ related information to rural people.
4) E-Chaupal was initiated by .........................to provide information on
...................to the farmers.

3.7 LET US SUM UP

In this Unit, we discussed the emergence of ICT, its definition, nature, and
role. We traced the access and growth of ICT globally and with particular
reference to India. We discussed the major ICT technologies from fixed
phones, mobile phones, and computers to the Internet and how these
technologies have increased over the years.
We also looked at digital divides in detail across countries—developed and
developing worlds, rural and urban areas, and regional level or state level.
65
New Media and Society We have seen how the rural, underdeveloped regions are still lagging in
access to ICT technologies. Finally, we have discussed the factors leading
to the digital divide and initiatives taken by the government to bridge the
digital divide.
Overall, one can say that ICT has become the life line at present, and India
has also benefited a lot from its diffusion. However, still, a lot needs to be
done to fully exploit the benefits of ICT, where the role of government, civil
society, and people is equally important.

3.8 KEYWORDS
Digital Inequalities: Uneven distribution of digital infrastructure, the
existence of a varying level of competencies and skills among the different
segment of users to access the available digital resources, uneven availability
of regional language content in digital platforms, and even the imbalance in
the opportunities to implement the usage of digital media in offline mode.
These factors indicate the prevalence of digital inequalities in any given
social setup.
Digital Divide: The earlier version of digital inequalities, uneven distribution
of ICT infrastructure, is referred to as the digital divide. However, the
digital divide focused narrowly on the physical access to digital platforms,
it classified the people based on binary divisions - ‘haves’ and ‘have-nots’.
With greater penetration, however, and even saturation points witnessed
in developed countries, the focus shifted from physical access to usage,
competencies, skills, and opportunities based divisions, more specifically it
is being referred to as digital inequalities.
Internet Access: It refers to the ability of an individual or an organization to
connect their computing/mobile/digital devices into the Internet networks
through the data connection option of either broadband connection or
wireless connections. Depending on the availability of ICT infrastructure,
the speed of the Internet to these computers varies from place to place.
The nature and quality of these devices too determine the actual speed of
Internet connectivity. Even after access to the Internet, the user’s ability or
competencies or skills determine the quality of time spent or the quantum of
information retrieved or shared through these network connections.
Internet Penetration: It indicates the proportion of a country’s population
connected to the Internet platform. For example, in India, 51% of its
population (around 604 million) are connected as of 2020. India has the
second-largest Internet users after China, yet in comparison, the penetration
is not even as 65% of them are male, and 35% are female users. Similarly,
the urban and rural areas also show a wide gap.
ICT Tools: Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based
infrastructure such as capturing and processing devices and software, storage
hardware, transmission networks are tools of communication that take place
in a digital mode using binary numbers and pocket system protocols over the
collection of networks. For example, computers, laptops, mobiles, scanners,
hard disks, optic fibres, cell phone towers, and satellites, etc.

66
 Issues of Access and
3.9 FURTHER READINGS Participation

1. Bus, J. (2012). The Evolution of the Digital Divide.http://citeseerx.ist.psu.

edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.401.1701&rep=rep1&type=pdf
2. James B. P. and Avijit S. (2015), ‘The Global Digital Divide:
Explaining Change’, Springer, 205, pp. 386
3. Jeffrey. R. and Doron, A. (2013), “Cell Phone Nation: How Mobile
Phones Have Revolutionized Business, Politics and Ordinary Life in
India”, Gurgaon, Hachette.
4. Mehta B. S (2019) ‘Mobile Telephony & Socio-economic
Transformation’, Studium Press (India) Pvt. Limited 2019, pp. 219
5. Rao S S, (2005), ‘Bridging digital divide: efforts in India’ Telematics
and Informatics No. 22, pp. 361–375
6. Singh, Neena (2007), ‘Bridging the Digital Divide in India: Challenges
and Opportunities’, World Libraries, Vol. 17, No. 1.
7. Singh, Sumanjeet. (2010), ‘Digital Divide in India: Measurement,
Determinants and Policy for Addressing the Challenges in Bridging
the Digital Divide’ IJIDE No. 1, pp. 1-24.
8. Tharoor S (2007), ‘The Elephant, the Tiger, and the Cell
Phone: Reflections on India, the Emerging 21st-Century Power’
Penguin Book, India, 2007, pp. 210
9. The Four Digital Divides (2003), Kenneth Keniston and Deepak
Kumar (ed.), New Delhi, Sage Publishers, 2003.
10. Van Dijk, J. A. (2017). Digital divide: Impact of access. The
international encyclopedia of media effects, 1-11. https://www.
utwente.nl/en/bms/vandijk/publications/digital_divide_impact_
access.pdf
11. Van S C (2008), ‘Information Communication Technologies: Concepts,
Methodologies, Tools, and Applications: Concepts, Methodologies,
Tools, and Applications’, IGI Global, 2008, pp. 510.

3.10 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS: POSSIBLE ANSWERS

Check Your Progress : 1
1. Digital inequality is the latest connotative term associated with an
earlier concept called the digital divide, which explains that there is
uneven distribution, access, and participation of digital infrastructure
in society. There are two concepts linked together in ‘digital
inequality’ — digital refers to the technological resources pertinent to
Information and Communication Technology (ICT), and inequality
denotes the unevenness in accessing and participating with the ICT
resources.
2. The information age began in the mid-nineteen century after the
industrial age when the work process starts involving the creation,
distribution, and application of information. It has evolved in phases
from a society having radio as the primary source of information
67
New Media and Society to television as a popular source of information and entertainment.
Further, we moved to the wireless age or digital age of mobile phones,
personnel computers, and the Internet. Over the years, these changes
in technologies have dramatically transformed the sources and flow of
information. The sizes of technological tools have reduced drastically,
and the speed to operate and process data and communication of
information also increased manifolds. We can identify the five
following phases of ICT evolution.
3. Information and Communications Technology plays an essential role
in the development process, it contributes towards national income
or GDP and improves people’s living standards by facilitating
access to more livelihood opportunities, and global information. It
promises a fundamental change in all aspects of our lives, including
knowledge dissemination, social interaction, economic and business
practices, political engagement, media, education, health, leisure, and
entertainment.
Check Your Progress: 2
1. Lesser
2. China, Mobile
3. Significant determinants of the digital divide/inequality are - ICT
infrastructure, education/skill levels, and usage patterns.
Check Your Progress: 3
1. Openness, transparency, and accountability
2. Broadband services through Common Service Centers
3. Agriculture and farm-related activities
4. Initiated by ITC, provides market prices of crops.

68
 UNIT 4 : POLICY FRAMEWORK AND
REGULATION
Structure
4.0 Introduction
4.1 Learning Outcomes
4.2 Digital Media Framework in India
4.3 ICT Policies of India
4.3.1 The National Telecom Policy (1994, 1999 and 2012)
4.3.2 The National Cyber Security Policy (2013)
4.3.3 The National Digital Communications Policy (2018)
4.3.4 The Net Neutrality
4.4 Regulatory Body
4.4.1 Role and Responsibilities of TRAI
4.5 IT Laws and Rules
4.5.1 Information Technology Act 2000
4.5.2 Role and Responsibilities of MeitY
4.6 Agencies Involved in Cyber Security
4.6.1 Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In)
4.6.2 Data Protection Authority (DPA)
4.6.3 National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC)
4.7 Social Media Guidelines
4.8 Let Us Sum Up
4.9 Further Readings
4.10 Check Your Progress: Possible Answers

4.0 INTRODUCTION
Any information (picture, audio, text, graphics, video, etc.) that is created
and/or transmitted using digital means such as a network is referred to as
digital media. The YouTube videos we watch, the Instagram and Facebook
posts, the news links we read and share, the music we download and also
the information we download for our college projects are all examples of
digital media. These days, even television has become digital as a set-top-
box is used for transmission of signals. This device converts signals into
digital form and hence, the TV we watch is also digital media.
The digital media scenario in India has evolved in spurts and phases. Today,
it seems to be ubiquitous and over-arching. There are about 2 million paid
digital media subscribers, while 1.5 million have entirely switched over
to digital media. 50% of the growth in digital subscription has happened
within the year 2017. This rapid rise is attributed to the enormous telecom
subscriber base of 1.19 billion. Mobile Phones are used by 650 million
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New Media and Society people, while 363 million use broadband. About 600 million individuals are
using the internet now. Average data usage has gone up to 3.9 GB/month.
Smartphones have a penetration rate of 33% of which 83% are android
phones.
Such a large subscriber base calls for a robust regulatory and policy
framework. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) has been
entrusted with regulating the sector. The policy decisions regarding all
matters related to information technology are taken by the Ministry of
Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). Together, these two
bodies manage the policy and regulatory framework for digital media in
India. Apart from this, there are several bodies and agencies that help in
regulating the digital media landscape in India.
In this Unit, we shall discuss the regulatory frameworks currently existing
in India to monitor and regulate the ever-growing digital media landscape,
and the national and international policy frameworks related to Information
and Communication Technologies (ICT).

4.1 LEARNING OUTCOMES

After reading this Unit, you will be able to:
●● understand the policy and regulatory framework for digital media;
●● recognise roles, responsibilities and powers of different bodies;
●● examine the regulatory and policy challenges in the domain; and
●● understand overlaps and lacunae in the system.

4.2 DIGITAL MEDIA FRAMEWORK IN INDIA

India is one of the largest telecommunication markets in the world [you
might have gone through various data related to the penetration levels of
ICT services in Indian telecom scenario in the previous Unit]. We have
the highest data consumption, as more than 600 million Internet users and
400 million regular users of social media in India. Such rapid expansion
of digital media promise calls for more avenues of equitable distribution
of resources and provides new opportunities for work, thereby facilitating
growth and development.
The scenario has become further complicated due to the emergence of
Over-the-Top (OTT ) content providers such as Disney-Hotstar, Netflix
and Amazon Prime. These platforms have caused significant disruptions
in the digital entertainment domain. There are no rules or guidelines to
regulate content over online platforms. Though the government is mulling
such a move, the content providers have been resisting it, citing the Right
to Freedom of Expression enshrined in the Constitution. Digitisation and
enhanced infrastructure have also allowed niche content to be published/
aired in vernacular languages. It has become much easier to do targeted
advertising as viewing has become much individualised. There are over
300 million Over-the-Top (OTT) subscribers in India as on 2019. Online
gaming and video calls have become exceedingly popular. Both traditional
and new players have entered the digital media market.
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Therefore, the digital media ecosystem has many stakeholders. These are Policy Frameworks and
players who are involved in creating, using and facilitating access to digital Regulations
communication. On the one hand, there are Telecom and Internet service
providers such as Airtel, Reliance Jio, Tata etc. who provide platforms
and connectivity to reach consumers while on the other hand, there are
production companies that create content for distribution. Therefore,
any regulatory body dealing with the above must consider issues such
as spectrum allocation, licensing, broadcast permits and infrastructure in
addition to establishing guidelines for the production, transmission and
distribution of content. It is paramount to secure the interests of consumers
as well as the service providers.
The Internet policy researchers try to understand the practice of governing
the Internet as a global and national infrastructure; the impact of public and
private regulation on Internet-based economies, communities and cultures;
and the rights, responsibilities, norms and principles invoked by users and
non-users. India has always encouraged a multi-stakeholder approach to
Internet governance. This signifies that the government wants to restrict the
monopoly of any one player while holding them accountable for their actions.
Additionally, the safeguarding of public interest in the administration of the
Internet is of more significance.
The following are issues that need to be managed to ensure a democratic
distribution of spectrum in India:-
1) Control of critical Internet resources
2) Setting Internet standards
3) Access and inter-connection coordination
4) Cybersecurity governance
5) Policy role of information intermediation
6) Architecture based intellectual property rights enforcement
There are also questions of data protection and privacy, copyright, security,
digital literacy, net neutrality, content regulation and data regulation.
Access to information is vital for a vibrant democracy. At the moment,
access to telephone and Internet is managed with the help of Internet
Service Providers. This raises questions about implications for users in case
the information infrastructure is manipulated by vested interests. The onus
of governing this lies with the TRAI through MEITY as explained later in
the Unit. The government protects the rights of content creators through
the IT Act. The question of data regulation has been addressed through the
Data Protection Bill. Privacy concerns are addressed within the legal and
constitutional framework. Thus, Internet governance in India is a mix of all
types of actors (Kerr et al., 2019).
The Government of India has envisioned a flagship ‘Digital India’
programme that is centred on three core areas:
1. Digital Infrastructure as a Utility to Every Citizen
2. Governance and Services on Demand
3. Digital Empowerment of Citizens
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New Media and Society To further understand the roles and responsibilities of stakeholders, it is
essential to understand the regulatory framework in India. As per the
Indian Constitution, our administrative system is divided into Legislature,
Executive and Judiciary. The legislature makes laws and rules for the
country. It includes the Parliament and State legislatures. The executive
(central and state governments) ensures law enforcement while the judiciary
acts as a system of balance, so that powers of both legislative and executive
are kept under check. It safeguards the constitutional rights of citizens. The
legislature makes rules and regulations that are converted into laws by the
executive. The judiciary safeguards these laws and ensures enforcement.
The laws have to be complied by all, and any non-compliance is punishable
by fine or imprisonment. Thus, legislative bodies make regulations, and the
judiciary ensures compliance by backing them with strict laws.
In India, the Department of Telecommunication (DOT) operating under the
Ministry of Communication handles all matters about policy, licensing and
regulation in the telecom sector. It manages the Digital Communications
Commission (DCC), Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI),
Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT) etc. The
responsibility of the administration of laws related to telecom also rests
with DOT. The Indian Government established the Telecom Commission
in 1989 to deal with the administrative and financial matters related to
telecommunications. It was rechristened as the ‘Digital Communications
Commission’ (DCC) in October 2018. The DCC has the following functions:-
1. Formulating the policies of the Department of Telecommunications
for approval of the government;
2. Preparing the budget for the Department of Telecommunications for
each financial year and getting it approved by the Government; and
3. Implementation of the Government’s policy in all matters concerning
telecommunication.
Activity – 1
List the primary services offered as part of the Digital India programme.

Check Your Progress: 1

Note: 1) Use the space below for your Answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this Unit.
1. What is the current scenario concerning digital media in India?
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2. Give an overview of the regulatory structure of digital media in India.
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4.3 ICT POLICIES OF INDIA

To better understand the regulatory and policy framework in the telecom
sector, let us first understand the differences between policy, regulation, laws
and guidelines. Policies are different from regulations as the purpose of a
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policy is to guide decisions. They are a statement of intent and are usually Policy Frameworks and
indicative in nature and broad in scope. Theodore J. Lowi, the American Regulations
political scientist, proposed four types of policy, namely distributive,
redistributive, regulatory and constituent (Perguntasaopo, 2012). The
regulatory policies define limits to behaviour and suggest fines for non-
compliance while limiting the discretion of agencies.
4.3.1 The National Telecom Policy (1994, 1999 and 2012)
In India, the National Telecom Policy has been the guiding source for the
telecommunication sector. Initially, the National Telecom Policy 1994 was
introduced as part of the budgetary announcements to open up the telecom
sectors to private players. The full-fledged National Telecom Policy (NTP)
was introduced in the year 1999 and reintroduced in the year 2012. The NTP
1999 policy seeks to address the issues such as availability of spectrum for
telecom services. An independent regulator, TRAI has been created for the
purpose through the NTP 1999. TRAI regulates the allocation of telecom
spectrum in India. It lays down rules for eligibility criteria, application,
licensing and granting of spectrum frequencies. The bidding process
contains multiple stages, and TRAI ensures that all interested players abide
by the established standards at each stage.
During the NTP 1999 period, there were concerns regarding the declining
revenues of private players involved in the telecom sector and the need to
safeguard the IT sector against emerging threats. It envisaged providing
affordable and effective communications for all Indians, including those
based in rural, tribal and hilly areas. Improving the telecommunications
infrastructure and proper management of the spectrum were the most
important objectives of this policy.
The NTP 2012 document states that the “Vision is to transform the
country into an empowered and inclusive knowledge-based society, using
telecommunications as a platform.” The main aim is to enhance technology
adoption so that sectors such as education, health etc. can be improved. As
per the policy document, “NTP -2012 is an initiative to create a conducive
policy framework to address these issues and to touch the lives of all
citizens and transform India.” NTP 2012 is aimed at further empowering
the regulator.
4.3.2 The National Cybersecurity Policy (2013)
During the early period of the 2020s, the Information Technology (IT)
sector has grown exponentially in India. The government aimed to be at par
with global IT markets, for which a secure, robust networked environment
was the need of the hour. It is essential to have a secure cyber ecosystem to
gain the trust of global IT players. A multi-pronged approach was required
to set up such an environment. The National Cyber Security Policy (NCSP)
was designed to fulfil this need. The primary objectives of the NSCP were
- creating a secure cyber ecosystem in the country, by generating adequate
trust and confidence in IT systems and transactions in cyberspace and
strengthening the regulatory framework to achieve this. The policy focused
on creating strategies to gain information about cybersecurity threats at
national and sectoral levels. Proposed to establish a National Critical
Information Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC) to protect vital
information infrastructure.
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New Media and Society There was a lot of impetus on Research and Development of new IT
products. The policy talks about protecting and safeguarding private data
of citizens against cybercrime and theft. The NCSP assured to establishing
mechanisms to prevent, investigate and prosecute cybercrime. The policy
encourages public-private partnerships and collaborative engagements for
securing cyberspace. However, the NCSP was silent on provisions to deal
with risks from new technologies such as cloud computing, blockchains etc.
and increased use of social media networks.
4.3.3 The National Digital Communications Policy (2018)
In 2018 National Telecom Policy was reintroduced as National Digital
Communications Policy (2018). It aims to accomplish the following
strategic objectives by 2022:
1. Provisioning of Broadband for All
2. Creating 4 Million additional jobs in the Digital Communications
sector
3. Enhancing the contribution of the Digital Communications sector to
8% of India’s GDP from 6% in 2017
4. Propelling India to the top 50 Nations in the ICT Development Index
of ITU from 134 in 2017
5. Enhancing India’s contribution to Global Value Chains
6. Ensuring Digital Sovereignty
The broad mission of the NDCP 2018 policy is centred around three main
targets - increasing Internet presence in India (Connect India), enhancing IT
infrastructure (Propel India) and making online a secure one (Secure India).
Connect India: The primary vision of Connect India is to create a robust
digital communication infrastructure. As part of this planned vision, various
targets are fixed. These need to be achieved by 2022: (a) the government will
establish a ‘National Broadband Mission – Rashtriya Broadband Abhiyan’ to
secure universal broadband access;(b) take measures to recognise spectrum
as a key natural resource for public benefit to achieve India’s socio-economic
goals; (c) ensure transparency in allocation and optimise availability and
utilisation; (d) strengthen Satellite Communication Technologies in India;
(e) ensure inclusion of uncovered areas and digitally deprived segments
of society, and (d) customer satisfaction, quality of service and effective
grievance redressal.
Propel India: Under this broad mission, the ICT infrastructure will be
strengthened over a period time, that would facilitate all stakeholders to
carry out various IT related services to the society. The main envisaged
targets under Propel India are - (a) enabling next-generation technologies
and services through investments, innovation, indigenous manufacturing and
IPR generation; (b) catalysing investments for the digital communications
sector; (c) ensuring a holistic and harmonised approach for harnessing
emerging technologies, research and development; (e) promoting start-
ups and SMEs, local manufacturing and value addition, capacity building,
strengthening of PSUs and accelerating industry 4.0.
Secure India: Primarily Secure India aims to Ensure Digital Sovereignty,
Safety and Security of Digital Communications. The Government aims to
establish a strong, flexible and robust Data Protection Regime. Amendments
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have been proposed to various licenses & terms and conditions to address the Policy Frameworks and
data protection and security issues by formulating a policy on encryption and Regulations
data retention, facilitating lawful interception of all Digital Communications
and increasing awareness amongst users about cybersecurity-related issues.
It will also ensure online safety of citizens by instituting a Computer Security
Incident Response Team (CSIRT), and enforcing obligations on the part of
service providers to report data breaches to authorities and affected users,
based on specific parameters. It calls for strengthening the security audit
mechanism and developing a comprehensive plan for network preparedness,
disaster response relief, restoration and reconstruction.
The ‘Digital Communications Commission’ (DCC), formerly known as
Telecommunication Commission, is to ensure effective implementation and
monitoring of the National Digital Communications Policy-2018.
4.3.4 The Net Neutrality
The Department of Telecommunications has approved net neutrality rules
proposed by TRAI that ban blocking, throttling, and zero-rating Internet
data.
Zero-rating is the practice of providing Internet access without financial
cost under certain conditions, such as by permitting access to only certain
websites or by subsidising the service with advertising or by exempting
certain websites from the data allowance. For example, Facebook was
planning to offer certain apps such as Netflix, Amazon etc. on its platform
but by baring users from accessing Flipkart and Disney-Hotstar. This is
considered monopolistic because the service provider gains an advantage in
promoting their services over competing independent companies. It limits
the rights of users to choose which service they want to access. Also, they
might restrict the competitor to reach users of their service, thereby limiting
the open market and invoking usage restrictions. This is unfair for all service
provider in the telecom sector.
As per the Net Neutrality policy, every net user must have equal access
to all lawful online content at the same speed and prescribed cost. The
new rules prevent “any form of discrimination or interference” with data,
including “blocking, degrading, slowing down, or granting preferential
speeds or treatment to any content.” The violation of net neutrality will be
treated as a violation of the license conditions. This is in contravention to
most developing countries where consumers were offered free access to
some Internet services via Facebook’s Internet.org or Free Basics project. It
was considered limiting because instead of providing limited access to the
whole of the Internet, Facebook provided free access to its carrier partners
while charging for access to others. Free Basics was banned in India in
2016. This was done to ensure a level playing field for all online players.
Check Your Progress: 2
Note: 1) Use the space below for your Answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this Unit.
1. What are the policies that govern the telecom sector in India?
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New Media and Society 2. Why is the National Digital Communications Policy important? What
are its main points?
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3. Explain the concept of Net Neutrality and its significance for India.
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4.4 REGULATORY BODY

The purpose of any regulation is to ensure the homogeneous application
of the law. They are aimed at guiding the activities of government bodies.
The legislature does not enact the regulations, but they help in carrying
out the legislative intent. The bodies involved in regulatory activities
propose regulations that are subsequently discussed and commented upon
by members of the public. The proposed regulations are then issued as rules
and become legally binding like laws. The purpose of regulation is to ensure
a level-playing field for all stakeholders.
4.4.1 Role and Responsibilities of TRAI
TRAI was set up through the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India Act
(1997), and it was entrusted to achieve the objectives of the New Telecom
Policy 1999. Later, the body was split into TRAI and Telecom Dispute
Settlement and Appellant Tribunal (TDSAT) via an amendment in the
year 2000. TRAI was entrusted with the regulatory and recommendatory
functions, and TDSAT handled dispute settlement.
TRAI has the following objectives:-
1. Increasing tele-density and access to telecommunications in the
country at affordable prices;
2. Making available telecommunication services which in terms of
range, price and quality are comparable to the best in the world;
3. Providing a fair and transparent policy environment which promotes
a level playing field and facilitates fair competition;
4. Establishing an interconnection regime that allows fair, transparent,
prompt and equitable interconnection;
5. Re-balancing tariffs so that the objectives of affordability and operator
viability are met consistently;
6. Protecting the interest of consumers and addressing general consumer
concerns relating to availability, pricing and quality of service and
other matters;
7. Monitoring the quality of service provided by the various operators;
8. Providing a mechanism for funding of net cost areas/public telephones
so that telecom operators discharge universal service obligations for
the spread of telecom facilities in remote and rural areas;

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9. Preparing the ground for a smooth transition to an era of convergence Policy Frameworks and
of services and technologies; Regulations

10. Promoting the growth of coverage of a radio in India through

commercial and non-commercial channels; and
11. Increasing consumer choice in the reception of TV channels and
choosing the operator who would provide television and other related
services.

4.5 IT LAWS AND RULES

IT laws and rules are rules of conduct or action prescribed or formally
recognised as binding or enforced by a controlling authority. While laws are
specific, a regulation provides a broad framework for the laws to operate.
Thus, both laws and regulations have their importance. Regulations are
often enforced using laws.
For instance, the government may allow certain private players to participate
in the bid for spectrum allocation, but their bidding might be contingent
on adherence to specific laws. Non-compliance to these laws may lead to
disqualification from the bidding process.
4.5.1 Information Technology Act 2000
As per the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) 27,482
cybercrime were committed in India between January to June in the year
2017. The IT Act, 2000 is the primary law in India that deals with cyber
crimes and e-commerce. It was amended in the year 2008 to address
contemporary concerns. The Act lays down punishment and penalties for
crimes committed using computers/new media, e.g. hacking (Section 66),
identity theft (Section 66 C), violation of privacy (Section 66 E), threatening
national security via the denial of access, and attempting to penetrate
computer resources, ransomware etc. (Section 66 F), publishing obscene,
defamatory or sexually explicit content online (Section 67,67A), child
pornography (Section 67 B), breach of privacy (Section 72) etc. Various
sections deal with electronic records, signatures and safeguarding electronic
transactions and e-governance measures.
The Information Technology (reasonable security practices and procedures
and sensitive personal data or information) Rules, 2011 define provisions for
personal information and security and what constitutes sensitive personal
data.
Apart from the enactment of Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, and
setting up of CERT-In and National Critical Information Infrastructure
Protection Centre (NCIIPC) under the IT Act, 2000, the Government of
India has taken other initiatives such as introducing National Cyber Security
policy (2013), and framework for enhancing Cyber Security (2013). The
Government has also set up Indian Computer Emergency Response Team
(CERT-in) to deal with cybersecurity and emergencies.
4.5.2 Role and Responsibilities of MeitY
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) was
carved out of the Department of Electronics and Information Technology
(DeitY) in 2016. DeitY was earlier known as the Department of Information
Technology. MeitY is responsible for the formulation, implementation and
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New Media and Society review of national policies in the field of Information Technology, and it is
also responsible for the overall infrastructure and policies in the IT sector.
Meit Y deals with:-
1. Policy matters relating to information technology; Electronics; and
Internet (all matters other than licensing of Internet Service Provider).
2. Promotion of the internet, IT and IT-enabled services.
3. Promotion of Digital Transactions, including Digital Payments.
4. Assistance to other departments in the promotion of E-Governance,
E-Commerce, E-Medicine, E-Infrastructure, etc.
5. Promotion of Information Technology education and Information
Technology-based education.
6. Matters relating to Cyber Laws, administration of the Information
Technology Act. 2000 (21 of 2000) and other IT related laws.
MeitY was entrusted with developing a Framework for Data Protection
Law. Shri BN. Srikrishna, Retired Judge, Supreme Court of India, has been
chosen as the Chairman for this Committee. The Draft Data Protection Bill
has been submitted to the government for consideration. Subsequently, the
Personal Data Protection Bill was introduced in the Parliament in December
2019. As per the provisions in this law, the data of individuals cannot be
collected without giving specific details about its purpose. Moreover,
individuals must be informed regarding the categories and time of collection
of data and with whom it would be shared. All stakeholders are considered
liable in case private data was leaked due to negligence of service providers
(Section 43 A). The Section states that:-
“Where a body corporate, possessing, dealing or handling any sensitive
personal data or information in a computer resource which it owns, controls
or operates, is negligent in implementing and maintaining reasonable
security practices and procedures and thereby causes wrongful loss or
wrongful gain to any person, such body corporate shall be liable to pay
damages by way of compensation to the person so affected.”
Punishment is specified in case any information obtained is disclosed to third
parties without consent (Section 72 A). The appropriate authority needs to
be informed in case the personal data is leaked and is likely to affect the
individual negatively. The intermediary will have to provide details of such
a leak on its website.
The law also specifies punishment in case the intermediaries do not retain
personal data/information for the prescribed duration or fail to save a copy
of the data on servers in India (Section 67 C). An intermediary is defined as
“any person who on behalf of another person receives, stores or transmits
that record or provides any service with respect to that record and includes
telecom service providers, network service providers, internet service
providers, web-hosting service providers, search engines, online payment
sites, online auction sites, online marketplaces and cyber cafes.”
The intermediary shall not:
●● initiate the transmission,
●● select the receiver of the transmission, and
●● select or modify the information contained in the transmission
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The government will have the power to intercept, monitor or decrypt Policy Frameworks and
information (Section 69) and collect or monitor traffic data in the interest Regulations
of national security (section 69 B). New notifications have been issued as
part of the Temporary Suspension of Telecom Services (Public Emergency
or Public Safety) Rules (2017) which allows the government to temporarily
shut down phone and internet services during a “public emergency” or for
“public safety.” But these powers are also considered over arching, and
there are fears that the government may use these provisions to intercept
or block legitimate social media handles in the garb of protecting national
security.
Check Your Progress: 3
Note: 1) Use the space below for your Answers.
2) Compare your answers with those given at the end of this Unit.
1. Explain the roles and responsibilities of MeitY
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2. Explain IT Act (2000) in detail listing how it can be further
strengthened.
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4.6 AGENCIES INVOLVED IN CYBERSECURITY

4.6.1 Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In)
Section 70B of the IT Act 2000 called for establishing Indian Computer
Emergency Response Team (CERT-in) as the national cybersecurity
agency. The agency is responsible for spreading awareness pertaining to
cybersecurity issues and also to operate a helpline to manage such incidents.
It deals with:-
●● Collection, analysis and dissemination of information on cybersecurity
incidents
●● Forecast and issue alerts of cybersecurity incidents
●● Take emergency measures for handling cybersecurity incidents
●● Coordination of cybersecurity incident response activities
●● Issue guidelines, advisories, vulnerability notes and white papers
relating to information security practices, procedures, prevention,
response and reporting of cyber incidents
●● Such other functions relating to cybersecurity as may be prescribed.
4.6.2 Data Protection Authority (DPA)
The Personal Data Protection Bill was introduced in 2019. It provides for the
protection of personal data of individuals and establishes a Data Protection
Authority for this purpose.

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New Media and Society As per the Information Technology (reasonable security practices and
procedures & sensitive personal data or information) Rules, 2011 – personal
data is defined as
●● Password;
●● Financial information such as Bank account or credit card or debit
card or other payment instrument details;
●● Physical, physiological and mental health condition;
●● Sexual orientation;
●● Medical records and history;
●● Biometric information;
●● Any detail relating to the above clauses as provided to body corporate
for providing service; and
●● Any of the information received under above clauses by body
corporate for processing, stored or processed under lawful contract
or otherwise.
The government has mandated that any legal entity who is processing,
dealing or handling sensitive personal data (data fiduciary) must implement
reasonable security practices and procedures such as data encryption, age
verification and parental consent while processing data of children etc. The
Bill also lays out the rights of the individual. These include the right to know
if their data has been processed by a fiduciary, and even restrict continuing
the disclosure.
The Data Protection Authority will take care that all intermediaries’
(including government) process data as per the law. DPA will ensure
monitoring and enforcement; legal affairs, policy and standard-setting;
research and awareness; and inquiries, grievance handling and adjudication.
It will state codes of practice, conduct inquiries and issue warnings.
4.6.3 National Cyber Coordination Centre (NCCC)
The government has planned to set up a National Cyber Coordination Centre
(NCCC) to mitigate cybersecurity threats and understand cybersecurity
breaches at the macro level.

4.7 SOCIAL MEDIA GUIDELINES

Guidelines are different from laws as they are not binding and enforceable.
They suggest a course of action and do’s and don’ts for any given
situation. The government has specific guidelines for using social media
to enhance the usage of social media for public outreach, for disseminating
information, policy making, recruitment, generating awareness, education
etc. Government departments and agencies can engage social media in any
of the following manners:
●● By making use of any of the existing external platforms, or
●● By creating their own communication platforms
●● The choice of the platform – based on the duration of engagement and
type of consultation
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The ‘Framework and Guidelines for use of Social Media for Government Policy Frameworks and
Organisations’ comprises of the following six elements: Regulations

1. Objective: Why an agency needs to use social media?

2. Platform: Which platform/s to use for interaction?
3. Governance: What are the rules of engagement?
4. Communication Strategy: How to interact?
5. Pilot: How to create and sustain a community?
6. Institutionalisation: How to embed social media in the organization
structure?
Actively harnessing social media is now even more important, given the
massive presence of citizens on the internet. As more and more people come
online, social media can become a prominent tool to connect with masses,
ensure transparency and accountability in administration, receive instant
feedback and solve problems efficiently. It also reduces needless paperwork
and helps in connecting people in remote and disadvantaged regions with
the mainstream. In the absence of social media guidelines, there will be
no standardization among different government departments, and public
outreach programs may become ineffective. These guidelines are vital to
achieving the goal of ‘Digital India’.

4.8 LET US SUM UP

The digital media ecosystem in the country is a made-up of various statutory
bodies and constitutional provisions. A robust regulatory mechanism has
been developed to deal with challenges to the system. However, rapid
technological advancements and fast pace of IT adoption in India have made
it difficult to respond to emerging challenges. The government is trying to
evolve systems that are sustainable and at-par with global practices. There
is a huge need for digital literacy programs to enable a smooth transition of
citizens into netizens. The telecom market needs to remain open, free and
fair to allow rapid development of digital media.
The multi-stakeholder approach supports the democratic governance of
the internet envisaged by the government. However, a large number of
players are involved, and this often creates regulatory challenges along with
confusion about the government’s stand on issues. The shutting down of
the internet to prevent misuse by non-state actors has come under severe
backlash because it also infringes on the right to communicate freely. The
content platforms such as Facebook, Google also face difficulties as they
can neither monitor all the content shared on their platforms nor risk non-
compliance when asked to take down a page. The end goal of the regulatory
structure is to create a fair, equitable and transparent system of internet
governance that is accountable and dynamic.

4.9 FURTHER READINGS

1. Gurumurthy, Anita; Chami, Nandini (2016) : Internet governance
as ‘ideology in practice’ – India’s ‘Free Basics’ controversy,
Internet Policy Review, Berlin, Vol. 5, Iss. 3, pp. 1-17, http://dx.doi.
org/10.14763/2016.3.431
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New Media and Society 2. ITforChange (n.a.). Internet and Internet policy making in India.
(2020), from https://itforchange.net/sites/default/files/Internet%20
and%20Internet%20policies%20in%20India.pdf
3. Kerr, A. & Musiani, F. & Pohle, J. (2019). Communication and
internet policy: a critical rights-based history and future. Internet
Policy Review, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.14763/2019.1.1395
4. Lowi, T. (1972). Four Systems of Policy, Politics, and Choice.
Public Administration Review, 32(4), 298-310. https://doi.
org/10.2307/974990
5. Pohle, Julia; Hösl, Maximilian; Kniep, Ronja (2016) : Analysing
internet policy as a field of struggle, Internet Policy Review, Vol. 5,
Iss. 3, pp. 1-21, http://dx.doi.org/10.14763/2016.3.412
6. Morar, David. (2018). Perspectives on Internet Governance: (Why)
Does Internet Governance Matter? http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/
ssrn.3173935
7. The Centre for Internet and Society. (2020). India’s Contribution
to Internet Governance Debates—https://cis-india.org/internet-
governance/blog/nlud-student-law-journal-sunil-abraham-mukta-
batra-geetha-hariharan-swaraj-barooah-and-akriti-bopanna-indias-
contribution-to-internet-governance-debates.

4.10 CHECK YOUR PROGRESS: POSSIBLE ANSWERS

Check Your Progress: 1
1. Digital media has registered unprecedented growth in the past
few years. The low cost of access to data and increasing uptake of
smartphones is responsible for this. The consumption of video over
Over-the-Top (Netflix, Amazon Prime, etc.) and video-on-demand
platforms and news in vernacular languages have caused a growth
spurt in digital media.
2. The regulatory structure has not been able to keep pace with the
digital media in India. The Telecom Regulatory Authority of India
(TRAI) has been entrusted with regulating the sector. The policy
decisions regarding all matters related to information technology are
taken by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology
(MeitY). Together, these two bodies manage the policy and regulatory
framework for digital media in India.
Check Your Progress: 2
1. In India, the National Telecom Policy came in the year 1999 and
was revised in the year 2012. An independent regulator, TRAI was
created to address the issues such as availability of spectrum for
telecom services in the year 1999. The National Cyber Security
Policy that came in 2013 is aimed at safeguarding critical information
technology infrastructure in the country. There is also a National
Digital Communications Policy (2018) that seeks to ensure broadband
access for all.

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2. This is a broad-based policy dealing with all issues related to Policy Frameworks and
broadband and spectrum in India. It has three main parts: - Connect Regulations
India is aimed towards providing Internet connectivity to all; Propel
India is directed towards catalysing investments in the digital sector
and creating a robust digital communication infrastructure, and
Secure India deals with the protection of data and online safety.
3. As per the Net Neutrality policy, every net user must have equal
access to all lawful online content at the same speed and cost. The
new rules prevent “any form of discrimination or interference” with
data, including “blocking, degrading, slowing down, or granting
preferential speeds or treatment to any content. In data-heavy markets
like India, net neutrality is important so that all stakeholders have a
level playing field. The fundamental issue of access is dealt with by
ensuring that one player/ISP does not get any undue advantage over
the other in any way.
Check Your Progress: 3
1. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY)
was carved out of the Department of Electronics and Information
Technology (DeitY) in 2016. MeitY deals with: Policy matters relating
to information technology; Electronics; and Internet (all matters other
than licensing of Internet Service Provider); Promotion of internet, IT
and IT-enabled services; Promotion of Digital Transactions including
Digital Payments; Assistance to other departments in the promotion
of E-Governance, E-Commerce, E-Medicine, E-Infrastructure, etc.
Promotion of Information Technology education and Information
Technology-based education; Matters relating to Cyber Laws,
administration of the Information Technology Act. 2000 (21 of 2000)
and other IT related laws.
2. The Information Technology Act, 2000 is the primary law in India
that deals with cyber crimes and e-commerce. It was amended in the
year 2008. The Act lays down punishment and penalties for crimes
committed using computers/new media, e.g. hacking, identity theft,
violation of privacy, publishing obscene, defamatory or sexually
explicit content online etc. Various sections deal with electronic
records, signatures and safeguarding electronic transactions and
e-governance measures. It can be strengthened by quickly amending
it as per changes in technology.

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