Online Social Movements

Abstract

The emergence of “e-movements” and new forms of “e-protest” and “e-activism” (Earl & Schussman, 2003) has signified the importance of the Internet as an organizational and mobilization vehicle for those engaged in social change. Social and political scientists have widely studied social movements for a number of years, including the use of information and communication technologies (ICTs) to support these movements. Historically, technology has constructively influenced social movements; perhaps most compelling is the use of the printing press by European social movements in the late eighteenth century (Tarrow, 1998). With the press, social movement organizers were able to widely distribute their ideas and better coordinate their activities. More recently, radio, television, telephones, direct mailings, fax machines, and e-mails have commonly been used to disseminate information as well as mobilize critical mass (McCarthy & Zald, 1977; Lievrouw, 2006; Porta & Diani, 1999). In a similar vein, the bundle of new ICTs associated with the Internet (e.g., websites, streaming videos, blogs, Voice-over-IP and social networking sites) hasassisted numerous contemporary social movements. For example, while traditionally so-called activists have been the primary participants in social movements, today general citizens who may not consider themselves activists are actively participating in online mobilization (e.g. Hara, 2008). Because of the wide use of the Internet, social movements are finding a way to reach the general public. It has been reported that some social movements have taken advantage of ICTs to reach wider audiences faster, with lower costs than traditional methods (Bennett, 2003). More recently, social networking sites such as MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter played influential roles in political mobilization (Greengard, 2009; Gueorguieva, 2008). These technologies began to provide powerful means to organize forces—whether it is to fight against a prevailing corporation (Shirky, 2008) or to coordinate international protests (Pérez, 2008). Traditional social campaigns have resorted to activities like public demonstrations, street theater, sit-ins, and protests to wrestle with the power-holders or opponents. In contrast, the Internet has altered this dynamic by electronically advertising a movement’s views, goals, and tactics, publicizing the information of movement activities, serving as multiple resources, and linking like-minded individuals and groups transnationally. The rapid formation of global mobilizing forces and advocacy networks has attracted dozens of social activist groups (e.g., Arquilla & Ronfeldt, 2001; Gillan, 2009; Kahn & Kellner, 2004). In this chapter, we use the following definition of online social movements: “The term online social movements refers to the adoption and use by social movements and community activists of new information and communication technologies (ICTs), such as the Internet and the World Wide Web” (Loader, 2003, p. 1319, emphasis original). This includes both social movements that use ICTs as well as social movements that take place (exclusively) on the Internet. The literature on online social movements has grown to be recognized as a small but important area for research in information science and related fields due to the emerging roles of ICTs. Although this review makes no attempt to be comprehensive, it hopes to offer some insights into the literature of online social movements which are dispersed in various disciplines. The review of the literature in this chapter begins with the definition of social movements and introduces prominent theories used to study online social movements. Subsequently, overviews of discussions regarding ICTs’ influence on social movements are presented. Next, we focus on the following five uses of ICTs to facilitate social movements: ICTs as resources; ICTs to support collective identity; ICTs as framing devices; ICTs as mobilization tools; ICTs as spaces for social movements. Then, we discuss the opportunities and threats that online social movements provide, as well as how researchers began to explicitly theorize ICTs’ influence on social movements. Finally, possible future directions are introduced.