Tạp chí in Tiếng Anh

A study on the use of mainstream and social media by ethnic minorities in Vietnam

Thi Truong Giang NGUYEN	truonggiangptth.ajc@gmail.com	Academy of Journalism and Communication
Thi Minh Hien NGUYEN	nguyentminhhien2016@gmail.com	Academy of Journalism and Communication

DOI: 10.66057/llcttt-31544

Ngày nhận bài: 26/03/2026 Ngày phản biện: 28/05/2026 Ngày xuất bản: 10/06/2026

Tải tệp

Abstract:

Despite the rapid growth of information and communication technology in Vietnam, there seems to be a significant disparity in media use among people in lowlands, highlands and ethnic minority areas. While urban areas are saturated with information from different types of media, in remote areas, especially in ethnic minority areas, access to mainstream and social media by ethnic minority people is still limited. In light of these issues related to ethnic minority people, this paper examines ethnic minority people’s use of mainstream and social media in Vietnam. Findings are based on a questionnaire survey with sample size of 450 ethnic minority people from 8 provinces of typical ethnic minority areas in Vietnam, and on in-depth interviews with 20 leaders, managers, journalists and reporters from news organisations. While the survey results help to discover their media use (such as proportions of media use, media use duration and time frame, and motives for using media), the interview results aim to explain why there are differences in their use of mainstream and social media. Key findings show that when considering the usage of mainstream media along with social media, television is the most used means of media whereas social networks (including Facebook and Zalo) have the second highest percentage of usage, followed by the rest of mainstream media types. Interview findings further explain the features from the survey data.

Keyword:

Mainstream media, social media, media use, media access, ethnic minorities.

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