A study on the use of mainstream and social media by ethnic minorities in Vietnam

Thi Truong Giang NGUYEN; NGUYEN, Thi Minh Hien

Journalism Communication

A study on the use of mainstream and social media by ethnic minorities in Vietnam

By Thi Truong Giang NGUYEN

By Thi Minh Hien NGUYEN

Abstract

Despite the rapid growth of information and communication technology in Vietnam, there seems to be a significant disparity in media use among people in lowlands, highlands and ethnic minority areas. While urban areas are saturated with information from different types of media, in remote areas, especially in ethnic minority areas, access to mainstream and social media by ethnic minority people is still limited. In light of these issues related to ethnic minority people, this paper examines ethnic minority people’s use of mainstream and social media in Vietnam. Findings are based on a questionnaire survey with sample size of 450 ethnic minority people from 8 provinces of typical ethnic minority areas in Vietnam, and on in-depth interviews with 20 leaders, managers, journalists and reporters from news organisations. While the survey results help to discover their media use (such as proportions of media use, media use duration and time frame, and motives for using media), the interview results aim to explain why there are differences in their use of mainstream and social media. Key findings show that when considering the usage of mainstream media along with social media, television is the most used means of media whereas social networks (including Facebook and Zalo) have the second highest percentage of usage, followed by the rest of mainstream media types. Interview findings further explain the features from the survey data.

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Authors

Thi Truong Giang NGUYEN
Primary contact
Country
Viet Nam
Email
truonggiangptth.ajc@gmail.com
Thi Minh Hien NGUYEN
Country
Viet Nam
Email
nguyentminhhien2016@gmail.com

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