Gender Disparity in Social Media Usage among Teenagers in Kashmir, India

Abstract

The Contemporary Social Media era is not just a trend. It is an indispensable part of the fabric of modern society. The everyday life of millions of people has become entwined with social media. They depend on it to disseminate information, peruse their social networking profiles, read messages, update posts, etc. Ease of connectivity and dynamic interface has made Social Media evolve from being limited to as a media for communication to a highly specialised online platform which acts as a medium for breaking immediate news in real-time, a virtual trading place which offers online shopping abode for people, a podium for seeking a job, and a medium for displaying creativity. Though these sites are used globally by millions of people of different age groups, the teenage generation is the massive user of this technology and is very competent in using these technologies. While these digital natives are tech-savvy by virtue of being born in the era of technology and modern gadgetry, they are also a diverse group regarding their attitudes and capacities concerning the practice of digital media use. Against this backdrop, this study intended to delve into social media usage by these teenagers, focusing on possible differences between male and female teenage users. This study was conducted to look at gender-specific behaviours related to social media usage. The study involved eight Focus Group Discussions in which 32 male and 28 female participants were involved. The study provides an enhanced insight into how gender difference plays a role in teenagers’ discernment of social media use. This study aimed to research the dissimilarities in the usage of greatly evolving social media platforms and also to provide an advanced perceptive understanding of the role that gender disparity plays in the digital media age.