Hybrid Communication Ecosystems in Rural Contexts: Climate Adaptation Media Ecology Through Face-to-Face, Television, and WhatsApp

Abstract

This article examines a hybrid communication ecosystem in a rural setting vulnerable to climate change and questions how face-to-face conversations, television, and WhatsApp interact to transform climate information into action. Drawing on a qualitative case study in Sukadamai Village, Bogor, we combine semi-structured interviews, participant observation, and WhatsApp conversation analysis, then conduct a reflexive thematic analysis with triangulation. Findings indicate that television provides weather cues, while recurring field conversations serve as verification hubs that contextualize risks, negotiate time, and allocate tasks; WhatsApp complements these routines with rapid coordination alerts. We theorize that adaptation is a cycle of signal-verification actions distributed across interpersonal, mass, and digital channels, structured by organizational norms, trust, role cues, gatekeeping, and soft accountability, that mitigates unequal access and reduces decision latency in the face of rainfall variability. We recommend strengthening offline briefings and forums while incubating the targeted use of WhatsApp within working groups to accelerate alerts and coordinate work without displacing established practices. This study contributes to media ecology and environmental communication by determining the mechanisms by which hybrid networks translate climate signals into appropriate decisions and organizational and interpersonal communication by outlining design implications for information services, facilitation roles, and group chat governance.