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Social Media Research on the Road to Information Poverty Alleviation in Rural Areas of China

Abstract

General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward at the 19th NPC that the solution to the "three rural issues" is a fundamental issue concerning the national economy and the people's livelihood. The implementation of the strategy of rejuvenating the rural areas is the top priority of all work of CCP. Peasant population occupies 50.32% of the total population in our country. However, the "information gap" remains in front of half of Chinese people. "Information poverty alleviation" has become an important guarantee for peasants in getting rid of poverty and an urgent task in accomplishing "precise poverty alleviation" policy. The rapid development of social media in China profoundly affects people's ways of communication and social participation. This paper focuses on the native context of rural areas and uses some research methods such as questionnaires, case studies and interviews, taking several villages in Shuibuya Town, Badong County, Hubei as an example to explore the diffusion, role and trend of social media in the procedure of rural "information poverty alleviation" , and to response to the following research questions: • How the social media spread in rural areas; • How social media reshape the villagers' daily lives; • Where are the potentials and barriers of "ubiquitous" and "tool-type" social media in rural areas? • What are the plight of villagers who do not use social media?

Tianyu Li, Yan Zhang, Libin Wang, Bobo Wang

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