ROLL OF NEW MEDIA IN ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Abstract

There are around 50 crore internet users in India, among those almost 19 crore lives in rural area1. According to Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) data the number of internet users increasing day by day. A large section of this population is active on new media or popularly known as social media. A data provider website “statistics.com†estimates 25.8 crore users active on new media in its recent report2. A part from informing and educating masses, helping development cause is one of the major functions of media. In past all forms of media print, electronic or performing arts played their role in different aspect of human development. In fact usefulness of a media stream can be judged by its roll in social and economic development.

New Media supported by internet is latest entrant in media gamut. It has challenged concepts in classical media theory in big way. The line between channel and target audience has gone blur. Now Communicator and receiver are continuously interchanging their role. With instant feedback New Media is most communicative today, which the real power of New Media. We all understand that new media is very powerful. With continuous addition of users and social media platforms it is getting stronger day by day. This makes a perfect case to study the usefulness of New Media.

For evaluating the usefulness of new media we need to study its role in human development especially in social and economic development. In the proposed paper we will study role of New Media in economic development. In the study we will try to find out how New Media is helping the growth in economic indicators like income, employment, consumption etc. We will also try to find out economic opportunity directly related to New Media. We will also try to find out impact of New Media on implementation of government social schemes and its impact on GDP growth. The study will also focus on limitation of New Media for achieving economic development goals.