Internet as a Field: An Analysis of the Santal Online Communities

Introduction

It is a renowned quote by novelist Binoy Mukhopaddya, “ Modern Science has given speed but it has taken away emotion (Drishipat/ দৃষ্টিপাত,1947).” On the internet -online platform, we can witness the mix of emotions and quickness of the Santal community. The subject of whether the Internet transforms us or if we adapt to it is still being debated in numerous academic areas. Nevertheless, the relationship between offline everyday life and the Internet space is inarguable, and at the same time, we can say the growing influence of social networks on our lives confidently. As of December 2020, Facebook's daily audience (DAUs) averaged 1.84 billion (up 11% year-over-year) (Market.us, n.d).Since noting the functions outlined above in addition to the traditional ethnographic research of the Santal community, the chapter serves as an example of how the analysis of Facebook may become a piece of vital information to the traditional ethnographic study of the Santal community. Let us take the starting point in the history of the popular social network is February 4, 2004; then, literally in a university dorm room, Mark Zuckerberg created the Facebook website. Initially, the network was focused on a somewhat closed community like students of Harvard University, but Eduardo Saverin, Chris Hughes, and Dustin Moskowitz, who joined the project, significantly increased the audience to Massachusetts, New York, Yale, and Columbia Universities. However, according to the purposes of creation and the published content, we are to distinguish five types of following themes

• 1.

  Ethnic or minority communities;

• 2.

  Groups of fellow villagers;

• 3.

  Santal language revival communities;

• 4.

  Groups dedicated to the Santal history and culture; and

• 5.

  Academic groups. A

It is the most global platform (in terms of the number of registered users), and it links to the place of study no longer. Facebook offers different user types of communication ways, such as communication in messengers, chats (text and audiovisual messages), commenting on posts, expressing a personal attitude to the publication/photo/comment of a “friend” through reactions (love, angry, like and so others), in addition, there are also such signs of belonging to the audience as likes and tags also (Dalsgaard, 2016). Images today act in the same way of communication as text or speech. In this backdrop, the visual component of Facebook (published “stories”, photos, memes.) becomes a separate important source for studying ethnic communities (Uimonen, 2013). Moreover, Facebook allows us to broadcast our experiences and receive emotional support and stay up to date despite the physical distance (Ellison et al.,2011). As a social media, Facebook has become increasingly popular with people. This chapter aims to highlight the feelings, love, anger, and resentment of the Santal community.

Facebook is also used to promote and sell goods and services or create a personal brand. Regarding the latter, it is worth noting that creating an individual profile on Facebook is often similar to branding practices. The user designs himself for the needs of various audiences through published posts, subscriptions to groups, participating in communities, and others. Often, these users increase the level of trust and open up additional opportunities (for example, membership in a community or access to previously closed information) or, on the contrary, reduce it. Since its have communicative and socializing functions, Facebook is also a space for constructing ethnicity in the virtual world. Nowadays, Facebook has become a preferred and popular social networking platform where the descendants of Santals and activists of the Santal revival movement can declare themselves to express their opinion.