By Sunetra Sen Narayan and Shalini Narayanan
WhatsApp is used by over half a billion people in India today in all fields – in business, corporate and informal sectors, in government, for education and among friends, families and acquaintances. The WhatsApp India Story: Inside the Digital Maya Sphere critically explores the social messaging app’s rapid expansion in India and its growing influence and looks at whether, as a form of horizontal communication, it poses a challenge to more traditional structures of communication.
The publication examines WhatsApp’s spread in the personal and professional lives of Indians and the myriad ways in which people in India are using the app in social and business interactions, including among people living with disabilities. Using case studies, interviews, surveys and in-depth research, it analyses key aspects of WhatsApp’s massive popularity and its impact on how people communicate. It also explores its impact on the psycho-social dynamics in India, including the dissemination of fake news and politically motivated content, and the consequent need for media regulation in the country.
It is one of the first books to analyse the pervasiveness of WhatsApp and social media apps in different areas of Indian society, this book will be of interest to scholars and students of media studies, communication studies, digital media, cultural studies, cyberculture studies, sociology and social policy and media law. It is available in Paperback, Hardback, and eBook formats.
Contents
List of Figures
Foreword
Acknowledgements
Chapter 1: WhatsAppening India: The Message is the Medium
Chapter 2: Social Messaging: The Theoretical Framework
Chapter 3: Hello WhatsApp: Connecting Friends and Family
Chapter 4: Politics and Elections: The Virtual Battleground
Chapter 5: The Menace of Fake News: Beware the Forward
Chapter 6: Regulatory Challenges: Crime and Punishment
Chapter 7: WhatsApp and Disability: An Enabler?
Chapter 8: Professionals and Messaging: Fatigue or Administrative Ease?
Chapter 9: Doing Business, the Social Messaging Way
Chapter 10: Conclusions: The WhatsApp Way of Life
Appendix
Index
Sunetra Sen Narayan is currently a Professor at the Indian Institute of Mass Communications, New Delhi.
Shalini Narayanan is an author, Professor, researcher, media expert, trainer, and a member of IAMCR.
The above text is from the publisher’s description of the book:
Title: The WhatsApp India Story - Inside the Digital Maya Sphere
Authors: Sunetra Sen Narayan and Shalini Narayanan
Published: 2024
Pages: 300
Publisher: Routledge India