Transition numérique et mutation sociale en Côte d’Ivoire

Abstract

The advent of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) has given an impulsion to the objectives of modernization of the Ivorian society through the digitalization of the production and governance systems. This momentum for change, assimilable to a digital transition, appears as an indispensible factor in the dynamics of social transformation. However, in multiple circumstances, the digital transition has also shown its capacity to annihilate the result of development or else, to thwart the process. This study therefore aims to analyze the relation between digital transition and the dynamics of social change in Côte d’Ivoire. It apprehends this relationship between the use of digital technologies and the efforts of social change by questioning the influences and interdependencies, but also the contributions and the limits. Bringing communication sciences to the heart of this issue, the study investigated on the basis of a qualitative approach through individual semi-structured interviews. Ultimately, it led to the conclusion that although it has an important role to play in the process of social change in Côte d'Ivoire, the digital transition also has some negative effects on development.

Keywords

• digital transition; society; social change; communication; development.