Research On Digital TV Adoption In Rural Areas From The Perspective Of Innovation Diffusion Theory

As the media technology advances continuously,digital TV plays a significant role in guiding the life in rural areas and promoting new rural construction.In this regard,it serves as a major channel for the farmers to acquire information.In recent years,the government has increasingly optimized and upgraded the digital TV technology to improve the development of rural areas,achieving the "Promises" plan for new rural digital broadcasting television.However,it is further associated with villager's features and objective social factors when being popularized in rural area,except for innovation.From the promoter's point of view,digital TV is a media product.On this basis,it could be popularized in rural areas after it achieves the certain effect.On the adopter's level,digital TV is a kind of media technology,which needs the easily sensitive practicability to meet the use demands.In an attempt to study the villagers' adoption behaviors for digital TV,Tangfang Village and Fengshan Village,Xuan'en County,Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture,Hubei are taken as the research objects based on the classical technology diffusion theory-innovation diffusion.For this,the local villagers' media contact behaviors are empirically studied by means of questionnaire survey,so as to take into account the factors affecting digital TV diffusion and user's adoption.This paper emphasizes on solving two problems: verifying whether the media technology diffusion still follows the traditional technology diffusion rule in rural areas;analyzing factors affecting the villagers to apply digital TV.Rogers defines innovation diffusion as “a process of propagating innovation among members of a certain social team by virtue of special channel over a period of time.” He points out four factors required by innovation diffusion,including innovation,diffusion channel,time and social system.This theory has been extensively applied in the technology diffusion field.In the previous scholars' researches,individual feature,innovation factor and diffusion channel are introduced into investigation for the adoption factors.Based on the Rogers' s theoretical model and the predecessors' research conclusions,such factors as the interviewee's demography,cognitive attribute for digital TV,diffusion channel and promotion time are introduced into the media technology diffusion research model in rural areas of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.In addition to following the traditional diffusion rules,the individual's spirit of innovation,the local government's mandatory factor,satellite television and network television are introduced into the influence factors pursuant to the realistic social conditions of the object.The aforesaid proposed problems are detailed to form the questionnaire in such a manner of conducting the household-based field research in Fengshan Village and Tangfang Village,Lijiahe Township,Xuan'en County,Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture.Finally,the conclusions are made by virtue of comprehensive analysis for SPSS statistical analysis data,theoretical knowledge and interview data.It has been discovered that the digital TV diffusion in rural areas generally conforms to the traditional technology diffusion rule,but the overall speed is slow and is different from linear rising of the curve S.It grew up slowly in 2010 and 2011,ascended upon reaching most clinical values in 2012,and then grew up slowly,and finally reached the saturated state.Tending towards the saturated state,digital TV diffusion is required to conform to the traditional media diffusion rules in practical operation,without jumping to success.Although popularization for digital TV in rural areas is the government's major task to build the new countryside,it is not affected by the government's mandatory requirements during the villager's actual adoption.Factors affecting innovation respectively include cognitive attribute,diffusion channel and individual personal innovation based on influences.Firstly,cognitive attribute is most reflected at the persuasion stage of the diffusion process due to the fact that the applicability and technical advantages of the digital TV are bound to affect formation of the villager's cognition and attitude,and then the behaviors.Secondly,homogenous interaction between interpersonal communication channel and villagers has a significant influence on adoption during media technology diffusion in rural areas.Now network and smart phone have entered the rural society,but it does not mean that there is no necessity to continuously diffuse digital TV.On account that the new media has the use technology barrier,the digital TV makes up for the absence of such public faculties as library and cinema in rural areas.This is a great significance on the villager's cognition for economic and cultural construction of the outside world and rural areas.Besides,teenagers and left-behind families in villages have still depended on digital TV.As a result of this,digital TV has not been faded out the villagers' life.Instead,its technical advantages have been improved constantly in the popularization process.This makes the adopters get the better use feeling,so as to enhance loyalty for innovation.Moreover,the interpersonal communication channel and the mass communication channel are rationally integrated to provide sufficient funds and technical support to improve construction of infrastructure and talents in rural areas.