The Question Of Participation: The Internet And Social Movement Action

• In Event: 239 - Section on Communication and Information Technologies Roundtable Session (one-hour).
  In Refereed Roundtable: Section on Communication and Information Technologies Roundtables (one-hour). Table 01. Digital Activism: From Occupy to Gezi

Abstract

This paper looks at how the introduction and the use of the Internet contributed to the discussion of the level of participation in social movement actions. In addition to the explanations provided by classical texts in social movement and collective action literature, this paper focuses on the possible effects of the Internet technologies on the amount of participation. The Internet could increase the level of participation by reducing cost of communication while increasing its speed and widening its scope; increasing the amount of information available to users; creating ties between actors; and generating media coverage about the protest events.

Author

• Afife Idil Akin, State University of New York-Stony Brook