• Dr. Rashmi Choudhary

Post fire, if any invention has been so much influential and made such a huge impact on mankind it is without doubt –internet technologies and social media. Social media has converted whole world into one digital village where geographical isolation is no more relevant. Social media once considered mean for message conveying has immersed and powerful tool to make a mark in healthcare, education, safety, economy and almost every walk of life. And rural development is n exception. Gone are the days, when use of a low quality brick used in rural road construction when reported got inspected after good 3-4 years, or literally after the whole road vanished. Thanks to social media, now a day if a low quality brick is used within 60th second it is reported with evidence to almost all authorities and within an hour its gets verified and booked. Social media has certainly discovered many untapped potential for rural development. Social media for development uses to convey messages on issues such as health care, poverty reduction, good governance, environmental protection and community development, socio-economic and cultural development. Today the world has become a small place to live in and share knowledge, ideas and passing over valuable culture to the next generation, all these things are possible through social networking. Social media provides a platform to create and exchange user generated contents but it is redundant for the rural people to access internet for the most known form of social media, Facebook or twitter etc. The inability of these people to use this platform is a major reason for them to look at another option like NGO’s. If ICT is developed for better connectivity it is important for the people using these platforms (provides by NGO’S) to not get alienated and exploited and thus be able to provide a space which caters to rural India. Social media is a form of “many to many communication” meaning by using it people can input and receive information to and from the internet; they will be able to connect and communicate dynamically within a flexibility formed scope. The social web and mobile technologies have accelerated the rate at which relationships develop, information is shared and influence takes hold. Now a day people like to use social technology to help shape the world's events and culture. Facebook has taught us new ways to communicate and collaborate through features like feeds, profiles and groups. At the same time, smart phones and tablets provide mobile and instantaneous access to information from any location. Social media refers to communication devices, which can be used to communicate and interact with a large number of audiences in different languages. Social media is the web based and ICT based tools for information exchange. It includes social networking site, blogs, online forums, wikis, socially integrated text messaging services, video and podcasts, and many more. In the current situation, the role of Social media is very import to upgrade the rural society of India. It can motivate the rural people towards progress. It has been used at once for transmission of development communications to the people of this society as in others. The objective of this paper is to identify the role of social media for rural development along with opportunities and challenges social media has to offer for rural development in India.

Rural development, social media, mobile technology, Information and communication Technology (ICT)

"Social Media – Making Pathways for Rural Development in India!!!", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 2, page no.313-318, February-2019, Available :http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIRAB06055.pdf

"Social Media – Making Pathways for Rural Development in India!!!", International Journal of Emerging Technologies and Innovative Research (www.jetir.org | UGC and issn Approved), ISSN:2349-5162, Vol.6, Issue 2, page no. pp313-318, February-2019, Available at : http://www.jetir.org/papers/JETIRAB06055.pdf