Activism via Social Networking: A case study of Urban Indian Women Facebook Users
type: CreativeWork
description: Several cases of digital activism via social networking sites (SNS) have recently appeared worldwide which specifically address women’s issues. These instances point to the fact that women are active on the Internet and use SNSs (such as Facebook) to promote causes and garner support for issues as varied as feminine sexuality, health and social agency. SNS, perhaps for the first time in the history of communication technology, is a communication tool that is used as extensively by women as men. One explanation for this may be found in the chatty nature of interaction that takes place on SNS, amounting to information exchange that verge on gossip but is not thereby less effective for activist purposes. Gossip need not be flippant and spiteful, but can rather gratify the actor and serve her self-interest, which is very similar to her experience when she engages in a quick chat on Facebook, irrespective of where she or her friend is located. Overcoming geographical and temporal limits, SNS as a ‘virtual public sphere’ facilitates genderbased activism, using tactics akin to the consciousness-raising groups of the second-wave feminist movement. This thesis investigates the uses of SNS by women for political purposes, and asks, first, whether this form of cyber-activism actually has an impact on society and, second, which political issues it is able to address most successfully. To explore this research question, I take up India as a case study because it is a developing country with a high level of technological penetration, especially amongst the urban populations, boasting the second highest usage of mobile Internet in the world. Even low-end mobile phones are enabled with data access options and SNS can now be accessed in vernacular languages. While digital activism is unfolding in urban India via the mobile Internet, in non-urban areas activists are resorting to simple cellular handsets. Thus, this development in mobile telephony has the potential to overcome the soc…
abstract: Several cases of digital activism via social networking sites (SNS) have recently appeared worldwide which specifically address women’s issues. These instances point to the fact that women are active on the Internet and use SNSs (such as Facebook) to promote causes and garner support for issues as varied as feminine sexuality, health and social agency. SNS, perhaps for the first time in the history of communication technology, is a communication tool that is used as extensively by women as men. One explanation for this may be found in the chatty nature of interaction that takes place on SNS, amounting to information exchange that verge on gossip but is not thereby less effective for activist purposes. Gossip need not be flippant and spiteful, but can rather gratify the actor and serve her self-interest, which is very similar to her experience when she engages in a quick chat on Facebook, irrespective of where she or her friend is located. Overcoming geographical and temporal limits, SNS as a ‘virtual public sphere’ facilitates genderbased activism, using tactics akin to the consciousness-raising groups of the second-wave feminist movement. This thesis investigates the uses of SNS by women for political purposes, and asks, first, whether this form of cyber-activism actually has an impact on society and, second, which political issues it is able to address most successfully. To explore this research question, I take up India as a case study because it is a developing country with a high level of technological penetration, especially amongst the urban populations, boasting the second highest usage of mobile Internet in the world. Even low-end mobile phones are enabled with data access options and SNS can now be accessed in vernacular languages. While digital activism is unfolding in urban India via the mobile Internet, in non-urban areas activists are resorting to simple cellular handsets. Thus, this development in mobile telephony has the potential to overcome the soc…
author: Ray, Paula
license: https://researchspace.auckland.ac.nz/docs/uoa-docs/rights.htm
date published: 2014
date modified: 2026-07-24T01:04:15Z
provider: University of Auckland
publisher: Networked Digital Library of Theses and Dissertations
type: WebPage
source organization: ResearchSpace@Auckland

PropertyValue
property ID: Handle
value: https://hdl.handle.net/2292/23005