Bridging digital divide, key to Make in India 2.0

Instagram is considered elitist, Twitteropinionated, and Facebook- outdated. In the midst of this was TikTok which within a very short time, became one of the few apps used by netizens across all demographics – ranging from A-list stars to activists to the aam aadmi. Pitched as a democratic app to make one’s voice heard, TikTok gave an identity to working professionals, creative homemakers, aspiring teenage crooners from small towns, and everyone in between. The short format video app made in China managed to capture such a massive audience in India, democratising internet usage in a manner that might only be rivalled by WhatsApp. The app boasted of as many as 200 million users in the country - leaps ahead of the 88 million-strong Indian user base of Instagram. It might not be an exaggeration to say that TikTok’s model of deployment is worth emulating by those at the helm of Digital India, owing to the pure ease of use built into the app and its unmistakable mass appeal. All you needed was a phone number, and you didn’t even need to know English, to be part of this new wave of social experience. The app offered a level playing field to say the least as influencers who made their videos in artfully lit studio settings were forced to compete with the low-fi late-night renditions of a Delhi-based porter, Saddam Khan, who had over 40,000 followers. Although the reasons might seem superficial enough, it does go to show that not all apps are created equal, some are more equal than others. A bitter pill to swallow, this class divide of cyberspace will become even more evident, now that TikTok is knocked off the grid. Commenting on the ban on Chinese-origin apps, a member of the Internet Freedom Foundation, a watchdog for digital liberties, remarked that any kind of public policy response based on national security needs to emerge from well-defined criteria. And while transmission of data is a very real concern, at a time when the entire nation is battling exhaustion – from the relentless physical and psychological assault of the pandemic, blocking TikTok which provided content creators with both income and validation, and viewers with a much-needed laugh, is being questioned. However, all is not lost. This is a good time for digital India to recognise the inherent strength of a simple and democratic platform. An app that can overcome the language barrier, unite different cultures, and allow contributors to earn, would truly be the most successful ‘Make in India’ statement that the Centre has been trying to drive home.