Table 1 Chatman's propositions and their... | Emerald Publishing

Table 1

Chatman's propositions and their applicability to Himalayan information practices

Proposition	Applicability and explanation	Examples
Life in a small world	Mostly applicable. People are still primarily concerned with information related to their region and social forces determine practices However, digitalisation is empowering people and creating influential figures.	“Whoever covers our region, as long as it is about our region, I watch it.” “Social media has allowed us to get some identity.”
Lowered expectations and fatalism	Applicable to some extent. Most people do not believe that they can impact climate policy on a national level, let alone on the global scale. However, this fatalism is being challenged by digitalism	“We can't do anything about climate change. We contribute nearly zero percent of the pollution causing it.”
First-level lifestyle	Applicable to some extent. Participants expressed a preference for local information because they knew the source. Respondents recognised value in lived experience but also cast doubt on local information, stating that it is riddled with hearsay and superstition	“Farmers may not be educated but they have a lot of knowledge and experience. We cannot deny that indigenous knowledge.” “Ancient wisdom is not scientifically accurate and there are a lot of myths involved.”
An “insiders” worldview	Not applicable. Participants felt external information is valuable since it is data-driven and produced using better resources and scientific rigour, with some even preferring it to local information	“Their (foreign) information is research based.” “We do not have research relevant for current times.”
Limited time horizon	Completely applicable. Time budget remains the core hindrance to information seeking. People are too caught up in making ends meet to worry about problems outside of their basic needs	“The common man is not motivated to search for information regarding these problems. They are facing the problems as well; … but they are more concerned about survival.”
Instant gratification and escapism	Mostly applicable. Fatalism, time budget issues, and social forces mean that media is used for escapism and entertainment instead of information seeking	“People care more about hearing what they like to hear rather than whether it is true or not.”
Climate information not instantly gratifying	New proposition. Participants preferred to use their time to solve problems that were deemed more present and tangible than climate change, which was often deemed to be a problem for the future	“Whatever disaster comes, we will see and face it when it comes.” “If there is a flood or some disaster only then will there be a video about climate after it.”

Proposition	Applicability and explanation	Examples
Life in a small world	Mostly applicable. People are still primarily concerned with information related to their region and social forces determine practices However, digitalisation is empowering people and creating influential figures.	“Whoever covers our region, as long as it is about our region, I watch it.”“Social media has allowed us to get some identity.”
Lowered expectations and fatalism	Applicable to some extent. Most people do not believe that they can impact climate policy on a national level, let alone on the global scale. However, this fatalism is being challenged by digitalism	“We can't do anything about climate change. We contribute nearly zero percent of the pollution causing it.”
First-level lifestyle	Applicable to some extent. Participants expressed a preference for local information because they knew the source. Respondents recognised value in lived experience but also cast doubt on local information, stating that it is riddled with hearsay and superstition	“Farmers may not be educated but they have a lot of knowledge and experience. We cannot deny that indigenous knowledge.”“Ancient wisdom is not scientifically accurate and there are a lot of myths involved.”
An “insiders” worldview	Not applicable. Participants felt external information is valuable since it is data-driven and produced using better resources and scientific rigour, with some even preferring it to local information	“Their (foreign) information is research based.”“We do not have research relevant for current times.”
Limited time horizon	Completely applicable. Time budget remains the core hindrance to information seeking. People are too caught up in making ends meet to worry about problems outside of their basic needs	“The common man is not motivated to search for information regarding these problems. They are facing the problems as well; … but they are more concerned about survival.”
Instant gratification and escapism	Mostly applicable. Fatalism, time budget issues, and social forces mean that media is used for escapism and entertainment instead of information seeking	“People care more about hearing what they like to hear rather than whether it is true or not.”
Climate information not instantly gratifying	New proposition. Participants preferred to use their time to solve problems that were deemed more present and tangible than climate change, which was often deemed to be a problem for the future	“Whatever disaster comes, we will see and face it when it comes.”“If there is a flood or some disaster only then will there be a video about climate after it.”

Source(s): Created by authors