INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON THE POLITICAL REASONING OF TRIBAL PEOPLE (WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO ALIRAJPUR DISTRICT)

The present study investigates the influence of social media usage on the development of political reasoning among tribal communities in Alirajpur, Madhya Pradesh. Political reasoning refers to the analytical and reflective process by which individuals understand political events, ideologies, and policies to make informed civic decisions—an essential component for meaningful democratic participation. Tribal populations, often socially and geographically isolated, face persistent challenges in accessing education, information, and political discourse. With the rise of digital platforms such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Twitter, and YouTube, social media has emerged as a powerful tool for political engagement and awareness, especially for marginalized communities. Using a survey method, data were collected from 437 tribal respondents categorized based on their level of social media usage: active users, non-active users, and non-users. The study employed ANOVA and Bonferroni post-hoc comparisons to examine differences in political reasoning across these groups. Findings revealed a statistically significant difference in political reasoning based on social media usage levels. Social media active users demonstrated notably higher political reasoning scores than both non-active and non-users. However, the difference between non-active users and non-users was not statistically significant. The results suggest that active engagement with social media platforms can meaningfully enhance political reasoning among tribal individuals, thereby contributing to their democratic empowerment.