The Ordering of Occupy Toronto: Exploring Social Media Mobilization

• In Event: Social Media's Role in Activism

Abstract

With advancements in digital technology and the increased use of social media, characterizing the ontology of actors who mobilize via social movements has become all the more difficult. Contemporary social movements are comprised of fragmented actors who aggregate by means of individualized orientations and a diverse set of action repertoires. Traditional theories embrace variables such as cultural innovations, opportunities or frames to explain for mobilization; however, they fail to address the interplay in which actors and their environment order one another. At present, a sharpening of theoretical and methodological instruments that seek to explore and understand the mobilization of activists is required. This research employs Actor-Network Theory (ANT) to capture the unique realities of activist mobilization in Occupy Toronto; one of many Canadian offshoots of the popular Occupy Wall Street movement. Occupy Toronto Facebook data was collected from September 2011 to October 2012. This paper argues that ANT’s method of translation adds value to an understanding of social movement mobilization and the personalized nature of collective action. By outlining what an approach of this style entails, an ontology of connective actants is offered.

Author

• Adam Pocrnic, Flinders University