Despite Touted Socio-Economic Backwardness, Muslims Second-Most Active Group On Social Media

A survey done by Lokniti-CSDS has thrown light on some interesting facts about social media usage.

While 15 per cent people from upper castes were found to have high social media usage, the figure stood at 9 per cent for OBCs, 8 per cent among Dalits and 7 per cent among tribal communities. Interestingly, Muslim community, which according to Sachar community report, is close to Dalits and tribals in many socio-economic indicators, was much ahead of them in social media usage.

Muslim community surpassed all groups except upper castes in exposure to social media, leaving behind OBCs, Dalits and tribals, reports India Today. About 20 per cent Muslims were found to be exposed to social media either strongly or moderately. This pattern can in fact be seen across all social media platforms including Facebook, Whatsapp, YouTube etc.

The survey also showed that overall 75 per cent of voters believed that "India belongs to all religions equally" while only 14-17 per cent believe it belongs exclusively to Hindus. People with high social media exposure are not only more likely to belong to the former, but also more likely to believe that Muslims are highly nationalist.

Also, contrary to the popular notion, not many people use social media to air their political views. Over 50 per cent fell in the former category while only 25 per cent said that they used social media to express their personal views on politics daily or sometimes.

The survey also showed that social media continues to be dominated by youth with the youngest voters (18-22 years old), also known as "first-time voters" by election analysts, using it the most.