Usage of IoT and social media among farming community in Theni District

Introduction

Agriculture is the basis for food security and survival. Mankind living on the globe depends majorly on the agri based crops for their survival (Upendra RS et al, 2020) [1] . It is the backbone of the Indian economy. It is undergoing a profound transformation driven by the integration of digital technologies. Agriculture in India is rapidly embracing the digital age, with technologies like Internet of Things (IoT) and social media platforms in transforming traditional farming systems. The convergence of these tools is not only improving agricultural productivity and sustainability but also empowering farmers with real-time information, community networking, and access to market intelligence. Among these, the Internet of Things (IoT) and social media have emerged as powerful tools with the potential to revolutionize traditional farming practices. IoT enables farmers to monitor and manage agricultural operations through smart devices and sensors, while social media facilitates the rapid exchange of information, knowledge, and best practices among farming community. They offer opportunities for enhancing productivity, efficiency, and sustainability. IoT is a network of Internet enabled objects, together with web services that interact with these objects (Zhao JC et al, 2010) [2] . Social media is a form of electronic communication through which users create online communities to share information, ideas, personal messages and other content (Ghosh MK et al, 2021) [3] . Theni District, located in the southern part of Tamil Nadu, is known for its diverse agricultural activities ranging from cultivation of food crops, cash crops and spices. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of digital tools to enhance productivity, improve decision-making, and bridge the information gap among farmers in the region with increasing smartphone penetration and expanding internet connectivity in the region, farmers are gradually adopting digital tools to enhance their farming practices. However, the extent of adoption, awareness levels, and perceived benefits of IoT and social media tools vary widely across different sections of the farming community. Theni District, located in the southern part of Tamil Nadu, is known for its diverse agricultural activities ranging from cultivation of food crops, cash crops and spices. In recent years, there has been a growing interest in the use of digital tools to enhance productivity, improve decision-making, and bridge the information gap among farmers in the region with increasing smartphone penetration and expanding internet connectivity in the region, farmers are gradually adopting digital tools to enhance their farming practices. However, the extent of adoption, awareness levels, and perceived benefits of IoT and social media tools vary widely across different sections of the farming community. Thus, this study analyzes the usage of IoT and social media among farmers in Theni district with the following objectives 1. To assess awareness and adoption of IoT and social media. 2. To study the utilization patterns of IoT and social media in agriculture.

Methodology

The study was undertaken in Theni district of Tamil Nadu. www.extensionjournal.com

Purposive sampling method was employed to select the blocks. Among the eight blocks, Bodinayakkanur, Cumbum, Periyakulam and Uthamapalayam blocks were purposively selected. Villages were selected by random sampling method and 125 respondents were purposively selected for the study. Pre-tested and well-structured interview schedule was used for data collection. The data was collected by personal interview during the months of May -July 2025.

The collected data was analyzed using the statistical technique percentage analysis.

Results and Discussion

Profile of the Respondents

The socio-economic profile of respondents influences their access to, and adoption of social media and IoT technologies. Understanding these characteristics provides context for interpreting subsequent findings.

• The results showed that 37.6% of respondents were young (below 35 years), 32% were middle-aged (36-45 years), and 30.4% were above 45 years. This indicates that younger farmers, who generally have greater exposure to technology, form the largest segment of users.

• Education plays a key role in technology adoption. The majority (18.4%) had completed secondary or higher secondary education, followed by collegiate education and illiterate respondents (17.6% each). Only 14.4% had studied up to middle school. • Half of the respondents (50.4%) were primarily engaged in agriculture, while the remaining 49.6% combined farming with non-agricultural occupations. • Most farmers (64.8%) were small holders, while 35.2% were marginal farmers. No large-scale farmers were recorded, reflecting land fragmentation over time. • Over half (56%) of respondents fell into the medium income category (₹1.11-3.50 lakhs), while 31.2% had low income and 12.8% had high income. • Peri-urban farmers dominated the sample (60.8%), followed by rural (32%) and urban farmers (7.2%).

IoT Awareness and Adoption

IoT awareness and adoption specifies how far the farmers have awareness and how well they have adopted the IoT in farming and tells about their usage, convenience and shortcomings in adopting it. The results are depicted in the following table 1.

Social Media Usage

Social media usage refers to how social media is used by the people and their advantages at farming level and how convenient is it to them. The results relevant to the social usage of farmers is depicted in the table 2 It could be inferred from the above table that majority (56%) of the people falls under medium usage of social media followed by 27.2% with low usage followed by 16.8% with high usage of social media. This may be because people use social media for entertainment rather than information on agriculture.

IoT Device Usage

This depicts the usage, difficulties, how efficient is it to use IoT devices such as drones, sensors etc., The results thus gathered from the survey are depicted in the table 3 below. IoT adoption is growing among farmers, the majority are still in the early to mid-stages of usage.

Initiation of Usage on Social Media Apps

It refers to the start or beginning point of using social media applications. It involves the procedure by which the respondents first become active on these platforms, setting up accounts and getting access to features. The distribution of respondents based on the initiation of usage on WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook are explained in the Table 4. Most farmers began using these platforms between 2 to 4 years ago, with 52.8% for WhatsApp, 48% for YouTube, and 43.2% for Facebook. This indicates a significant growth in digital engagement in the recent past.

A considerable portion of respondents (37.6% to 45.6%) have been using these platforms for more than 4 years, showing that for many, social media has become a wellintegrated part of their routine and communication practices.

Only a small number of users (3.2% to 8%) have joined in the last year or six months, suggesting that while adoption continues, the majority of the farming community had already embraced these platforms earlier.

Social media usage among farmers is well-established, with most having adopted platforms like WhatsApp, YouTube, and Facebook 2 or more years ago. This indicates a mature stage of adoption, highlighting the potential for using these platforms effectively for agricultural knowledge sharing, and community engagement.

Frequency of using social media apps

The frequency of social media use describes how frequently users interact with social media platforms to find out information, ask questions and take part in conversations.

Based on individual choices, interests and demands, the frequency can vary greatly. While some respondents use social media daily, others may use only sometimes. The distribution of respondents based on the frequency of using WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook are explained in the Table 5. The table discloses that WhatsApp is the most frequently used platform among 42.4% of the respondents daily, followed by 29.6% bi-weekly and 28% weekly. This shows its dominance as a real-time communication tool in farming communities. YouTube is also widely used by Equal proportions of farmers daily (33.6%) and bi-weekly (33.6%), while 32.8% use it weekly. This balanced distribution suggests that farmers turn to YouTube frequently for educational or how-to do content. Facebook shows a more varied usage pattern that 38.4% use it daily, and 32.8% use bi-weekly. However, 7.2% use it monthly, and 3.2% use it rarely, making it the platform with the most occasional users. Social media usage among farmers is active and frequent, especially on WhatsApp, which is the most consistently used platform. YouTube is a close second, likely due to its video-based educational value. Facebook, while still widely used, shows a slightly more sporadic usage pattern, possibly reflecting differences in content relevance or user preferences. Overall, this indicates strong potential for digital outreach and engagement through these platforms in agricultural contexts.

Time spent per day

Time spent per day refers the daily amount of time a respondent spends interacting with different social media networks. The distribution of respondents based on the time spent per day in using WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook are explained in the Table6 The result indicates that WhatsApp stands out as a multiformat platform, supporting audio, video, text, and images, reflecting its flexible and conversational use.

Language preferred

In order to effectively communicate ideas within the constraints of character counts and attention spans, it covers the use of brief, informal language, frequently utilizing abbreviations and internet slang. The distribution of respondents based on the language preferred in WhatsApp, YouTube and Facebook are explained in the Table 8 As evident from the table, 100.00% of respondents prefer Tamil across all three platforms, indicating a strong regional language preference for communication and content consumption. A significant portion also uses English alongside Tamil (42.40% on WhatsApp, 46.40% on YouTube, and 57.60% on Facebook. This shows that many users are bilingual or comfortable switching between Tamil and English, depending on content or context and also based on farmer literacy level. Tamil is the dominant language, essential for effectively reaching and engaging the farming community.

Conclusion

This study confirms that farmers in Theni district are currently positioned in the medium stage of the digital adoption curve concerning both IoT and social media. While the high prevalence of social media usage, particularly on platforms like WhatsApp (42.4% daily use) and YouTube (33.6% daily use), demonstrates its established role as a key channel for information sharing and peer-to-peer learning, IoT adoption lags slightly behind. The data indicate that farmers are highly engaged with multimedia content, preferring video and audio formats in local Tamil across all platforms, underscoring the necessity of localization for effective digital extension. Despite moderate adoption levels, the high percentage of users falling within the low to medium categories (over 90% for IoT and over 83% for social media usage) highlights a critical gap between awareness and sustained utilization. The challenge now lies not merely in introducing these technologies, but in transitioning farmers from casual users to skilled, high-usage adopters who can fully integrate these tools for precision farming. Future efforts must prioritize accessible training programs and localized digital content that leverage farmers' existing preference for visual and auditory media in Tamil, ensuring that these tools lead to tangible improvements in productivity and decision-making at the farm level.

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