Climate information practices among indigenous Western Himalayan people examined through uses and gratifications theory

Abstract

In this paper, we examine the climate information practices of indigenous Western Himalayan people. Shedding light on the sociocultural processes that shape climate information can harness the region's recent digitalisation and inform future adaptation efforts. Therefore, we investigate how propositions of uses and gratifications theory apply to Western Himalayan people.A total of 30 interviews were conducted in Western Himalayas in 2024 to examine the use of social media to search and consume climate information. Theory-driven analysis was then applied to the data using Chatman's propositions relating to small worlds.Our results show that our participants prefer local information, can have narrow worldviews and can suffer from fatalism and limited time horizons. This leads to them using mass media for escapism and instant gratification. Hence, most of Chatman's propositions are, at least to some extent, applicable to indigenous Himalayan information practices. However, unlike Chatman's findings, outside information was valued rather than mistrusted.Addressing the climate information gratification gap can make climate information more desirable and useable, leading to improved climate awareness and potentially transformative adaptation.We contribute by proposing a new proposition that needs to be added to uses and gratifications theory to reflect the lack of gratifications that users get from climate information. This is because climate change is still largely considered a problem for the future and can be abstract and intangible as a concept. Due to this, people prefer seeking information relating to other problems that appear more pressing and solvable.