Article summary
Abstract
The expansion of digital connectivity and smartphone use has transformed social
interaction, cultural expression and identity formation in rural India. This study
examines the relationship between social media use and changing cultural practices
among rural youth in Himachal Pradesh. Adopting a mixed-method design, it combines
quantitative and qualitative approaches. Primary data were collected from 120
respondents aged 15–30 years, with equal representation of male and female
respondents, selected purposively from one rural area in each district of Himachal
Pradesh. The study examines Facebook, YouTube, Instagram and Snapchat and
explores perceptions of cultural preservation, transformation, local identity and
intergenerational transmission of cultural knowledge.
The findings indicate that social media has become an integral part of the everyday
cultural life of rural youth in Himachal Pradesh. Digital platforms are increasingly
shaping cultural engagement, particularly in relation to music, entertainment, dress,
language, food habits and the representation of festivals and traditions. At the same
time, social media provides new opportunities for documenting, sharing and promoting
local cultural practices, thereby strengthening cultural awareness and facilitating
new forms of intergenerational cultural transmission. The study suggests that
digitalisation does not necessarily result in the displacement of traditional culture;
rather, it creates a dynamic space in which cultural practices are selectively retained,
modified, represented and reinterpreted. Rural youth negotiate inherited traditions
alongside contemporary cultural influences encountered through digital media,
producing new forms of cultural expression and identity. The study therefore
conceptualises social media as both a medium of cultural transformation and a
mechanism of cultural continuity, contributing to an ongoing process of cultural
adaptation and hybridisation in rural Himachal Pradesh.