The Emotional Logic of Streaming Video in the “White Wednesdays” Movement in Iran

• In Event: 3451 - Section on Collective Behavior and Social Movements Refereed Roundtables (1 hour)
  In Refereed Roundtable 60min: 8. Movements and Emotions

Abstract

Sociologists have yet to reach agreement on a conceptual framework or method for analyzing “frame resonance” (Snow and Benford 1988) in online social movements. We borrow concepts and methods from web memetics and the social psychology of culture to operationalize and analyze frame resonance in the White Wednesdays anti-mandatory hijab movement in Iran. Thematic analysis of a sample of Instagram posts and comments reveals six main themes, one of which, aggression, includes three subthemes related to verbal aggression and physical violence. As the level of aggression increased in videos, the level of aggression in the comments increased as well, and videos containing verbal aggression and physical violence had more likes and comments. We discuss implications of these findings for research on the consequences of online aggression and violence in other contexts.

Authors

• Farinaz Basmechi, University of North Texas

• Gabe Ignatow, University of North Texas