The Social Media Basis of Youth Protest Behavior: The Case of Chile

Protest activity has become a central means for political change in Chile. We examine the association between social media use and youth protest, as well as mediating and moderating mechanisms of this relationship, using survey data collected in Chile in 2010. We found that Facebook use was associated significantly with protest activity, even after taking into account political grievances, material and psychological resources, values, and news media use. The link between overall Facebook use and protest activity was explained by using the social network for news and socializing rather than when it was used for self‐expression. Postmaterialist values and political ideologies were not found to moderate the association between Facebook use and protest.     

Protest Paradigm in Multimedia: Social Media Sharing of Coverage About the Crime of Ayotzinapa,Mexico

In 2014 protests erupted around the world after 43 college students from Ayotzinapa, Mexico, were kidnapped and massacred. This bilingual, cross-national content analysis explores the relationship between multimedia features in stories about the Ayotzinapa protests and how social media users liked, shared, and commented on that coverage. This study furthers our understanding of the protest paradigm in a digital context, and sheds light on differences in mainstream, alternative, and online media outlets' coverage of protesters. Additionally, this study suggests social media users might prefer more legitimizing coverage of protesters than mainstream media typically offer.     

Social media use and university students’ participation in a large-scale protest campaign: The case of Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement

This study examines the impact of social media use on participation in large-scale protest campaigns that feature a range of participation opportunities. It develops a theoretical model which distinguishes between support generation and behavior activation effects, differentiates collective action, digital, and personalized action participation, and posits social media use as a mediator between social psychological predictors of protest behavior and actual participation. The empirical analysis focuses on Hong Kong’s Umbrella Movement in 2014. Analyzing a probability sample of university students (N = 795), the findings show that sharing political information and direct connections with political actors via social media have significant impact on both support for and participation in the Umbrella Movement. Social media use has effects on each dependent variable in the causal chain even after all the immediate causes are controlled. Social media use also mediates part of the impact of general political awareness, efficacy, and grievances on movement support and participation.     

The Dynamics of Audience Fragmentation: Public Attention in an Age of Digital Media

Audience fragmentation is often taken as evidence of social polarization. Yet the tools we use to study fragmentation provide limited information about how people allocate their attention across digital media. We offer a theoretical framework for understanding fragmentation and advocate for more audience‐centric studies. This approach is operationalized by applying network analysis metrics to Nielsen data on television and Internet use. We find extremely high levels of audience duplication across 236 media outlets, suggesting overlapping patterns of public attention rather than isolated groups of audience loyalists.     

Social Media and the Decision to Participate in Political Protest: Observations From Tahrir Square

Based on a survey of participants in Egypt's Tahrir Square protests, we demonstrate that social media in general, and Facebook in particular, provided new sources of information the regime could not easily control and were crucial in shaping how citizens made individual decisions about participating in protests, the logistics of protest, and the likelihood of success. We demonstrate that people learned about the protests primarily through interpersonal communication using Facebook, phone contact, or face‐to‐face conversation. Controlling for other factors, social media use greatly increased the odds that a respondent attended protests on the first day. Half of those surveyed produced and disseminated visuals from the demonstrations, mainly through Facebook.     

The Effects of Verbal Versus Photographic Self‐Presentation on Impression Formation in Facebook

Scholars of computer‐mediated communication have long been interested in the way in which interpersonal impressions form among computer users. Early Internet research explored how people used text‐based social information to form impressions of others. However, sociotechnological systems now allow users to present themselves in a variety of forms. The first study found that when textual and photographic cues were presented alone, the principle of textual primacy predicted results; however, Study 2 found when cues were presented together in the context of a Facebook profile, the data were consistent with a visual primacy—negativity perspective such that photographs more strongly influenced judgments of social orientation, and textual cues influenced social orientation judgments when accompanied by an introverted photograph.     

On spatial variation in the detectability and density of social media user protest supporters

Although much has been published regarding street protests on social media, few works have attempted to characterize social media users’ spatial behavior in such events. The research reported here uses spatial capture-recapture methods to determine the influence of the built environment, physical proximity to protest location, and collective posting rhythm on variations in users’ spatial detectability and density during a protest in Mexico City. The best-obtained model, together with explaining the spatial density of users, shows that there is high variability in the probability of detection of social media user protest supporters and that the collective posting rhythm and the day of observation are significant explanatory factors. The implication is that studies of collective spatial behavior would benefit by focussing on users’ activity centres and their urban environment, rather than their physical proximity to the protest location, the latter being unable to adequately explain spatial variations in users’ probability of detection and density during the protest event.     

Encountering “Difference” in the Contemporary Public Sphere: The Contribution of the Internet to the Heterogeneity of Political Discussion Networks

This study explores the intersection of media use, political discussion, and exposure to political difference through a focus on how Internet use might affect the overall heterogeneity of people's political discussion networks. Advanced and tested herein is the inadvertency thesis, which theorizes that limitations of selective exposure processes combined with weakened social boundaries found in the online environment suggest that people may be exposed to at least some additional political difference online, if only inadvertently. Hierarchical regression and mediation analyses confirm that online political discussion (directly) and online news (directly and indirectly) bear small yet significant relationships to the overall heterogeneity of political discussion networks, and that partisanship moderates the relationship between online political discussion and political discussion network heterogeneity.     

The Social Life of Wireless Urban Spaces: Internet Use,Social Networks,and the Public Realm

This study explores the role of urban public spaces for democratic and social engagement. It examines the impact of wireless Internet use on urban public spaces, Internet users, and others who inhabit these spaces. Through observations of 7 parks, plazas, and markets in 4 North American cities, and surveys of wireless Internet users in those sites, we explore how this new technology is related to processes of social interaction, privatism, and democratic engagement. Findings reveal that Internet use within public spaces affords interactions with existing acquaintances that are more diverse than those associated with mobile phone use. However, the level of colocated social diversity to which Internet users are exposed is less than that of most users of these spaces. Yet, online activities in public spaces do contribute to broader participation in the public sphere. Internet connectivity within public spaces may contribute to higher overall levels of democratic and social engagement than what is afforded by exposure within similar spaces free of Internet connectivity.     

A Field Experiment on the Internet's Effect in an African Election: Savvier Citizens,Disaffected Voters,or Both?

This study contributes to the research on the Internet's effect on political behavior and organization by examining how the Internet influences the types of evaluations that may motivate individuals to organize politically. This study employs a randomized field experiment to determine whether the Internet influenced individuals' perception of the fairness of the 2010 Tanzanian presidential election. It provides a direct causal test of the Internet's effect on political evaluations, and the findings reveal that the Internet negatively influenced individuals' perception of the fairness of the election and recount. However, the findings also reveal that the impact of the Internet on political life may not always enrich democratic values. In this case, more critical Internet users also became less likely to vote.     

Tents,Tweets, and Events: The Interplay Between Ongoing Protests and Social Media

Recent protests have fuelled deliberations about the extent to which social media ignites popular uprisings. In this article, we use time‐series data of Twitter, Facebook, and onsite protests to assess the Granger causality between social media streams and onsite developments at the Indignados, Occupy, and Brazilian Vinegar protests. After applying Gaussianization to the data, we found contentious communication on Twitter and Facebook forecasted onsite protest during the Indignados and Occupy protests, with bidirectional Granger causality between online and onsite protest in the Occupy series. Conversely, the Vinegar demonstrations presented Granger causality between Facebook and Twitter communication, and separately between protestors and injuries/arrests onsite. We conclude that the effective forecasting of protest activity likely varies across different instances of political unrest.     

Incumbency Bonus in Election News Coverage Explained: The Logics of Political Power and the Media Market

This article investigates the determinants of the incumbency bonuses in news coverage. Two main factors are identified: the distribution of political power and changes in the media market. To test these assumptions, a content analysis of the news coverage of 5 national election campaigns in Denmark was conducted (4,592 news stories). First, the more unevenly political power is distributed, the more visible the government is. Second, results suggest a trade‐off between the incumbency bonus and the coverage of nonsubstantive issues. Third, changes in news coverage seem to be more driven by changes in the political system than by changes in the media market. Finally, it is discussed how future research can further our understanding of political imbalances in news coverage.     

The rise of the electronic individual: A study of how young Swedish teenagers use and perceive Internet

The title of this article ‘The rise of the electronic individual’ tries to grasp several of those changes which young people in today’s Western society are confronting in a new digital media environment. With its various functions/services and characteristics such as multimedia, hypertext, interactivity etc., Internet (its users) has created a virtual reality, often called Cyberspace. Besides describing where Internet has been seen or used, what it is utilised for, how often the medium is used, and the attitudes to Internet among young Swedish teenagers, the article puts its focus on the alternative public sphere that is provided by Internet. It is a matter of getting access to a virtual arena, often without interference from parents, teachers and other elderly, where different roles and identities are tried out. The school yard is no longer perceived as the obvious meeting point as young people are entering the social landscape of Internet. For example, chatting and sending e-mail have become a natural way of becoming acquainted with other peers from all over the world.     

Framing the Egyptian Uprising in Arabic Language Newspapers and Social Media

This study examines the framing of Egypt's January 2011 uprising in the country's state‐run, independent and social media using a unique dataset of Arabic language content from newspapers and key social media posts collected during the peak of protests. Semiofficial (governmental) newspapers framed the event as “a conspiracy on the Egyptian state,” warning of economic consequence and attributing blame and responsibility for the chaos on others. Social media posts used a human interest frame defining protests as “a revolution for freedom and social justice” and independent newspapers used a combination of these frames. Findings point toward the potential roles that news media will play in shaping public opinion and demonstrate why social media have wide appeal in times of political crisis.     

Understanding the impacts of Internet use on senior Citizens’ social participation in China: Evidence from longitudinal panel data

Scholars have appealed to build a digitally inclusive society to include senior citizens. However, conclusions on the impacts of Internet use on senior citizens’ social participation are divided. In order to address the above issue, this study addresses two questions: 1) how Internet use is related to senior citizens’ social participation; and 2) what the specific impacts of Internet use are on different subgroups’ social participation. We aim to understand the specific impacts of Internet use on senior citizens’ social participation meanwhile explore the reasons causing the abovementioned inconsistence in prior studies. We ran different panel regression models to address these questions based on a dataset drawn from the China Health and Retirement Longitudinal Study. Our empirical results indicate that seniors who are Internet users have higher social participation than those who do not use the Internet even after controlling out other influencing factors; however, frequent Internet use leads to less social participation among senior citizens. For senior citizens with higher cognitive functioning, both using Internet or not and the frequency of Internet use lead to more social participation. Both using Internet or not and the frequency of Internet use cause senior citizens with pensions to engage in fewer social activities. For female senior citizens, frequent Internet use leads to lower social participation. These findings suggest that government and communities should improve digital infrastructures and offer senior citizens more opportunities to access the Internet; meanwhile, local communities, social workers, and family members should direct senior citizens to use the Internet in a reasonable manner.     

探讨高职院校开设数字媒体专业思政课堂的必要性

受到数字化、人工智能、5G时代万物互联的影响,当前高校正在推行“课程思政”改革,努力为教育的发展带来了改变。高校教育看重数字媒体所具备的多元的内容、新颖的互动模式和电子技术与艺术的结合,同时,数字媒体专业具备人才培养中所需的核心竞争力。高职院校开设数字媒体艺术专业,是为学生求得未来发展的空间,文章以数字媒体专业为主,深入探讨高职院校开设数字媒体思政课堂的必要性。     

Digital inequality in the Appalachian Ohio: Understanding how demographics,internet access,and skills can shape vital information use (VIU)

Access to information and resources via the Internet is an increasingly vital dimension of contemporary life. However, there can be several impediments to optimal Internet utilization in the form of access, skills, and motivation. Even when access is available, several digital inequalities arise as citizens often lack the skills and motivations to pursue those vital uses through the Internet to the best of their advantage. Digital inequalities in the hills of the Appalachian area of Ohio are often manifested in terms of social, cultural and geographic divides. Not only do the hills block wireless signals and make cables expensive to install, but regional poverty also drives away telecom investment. We conducted a survey of Appalachian Ohio to explore digital inequity issues and the determinants of online participation for things that matter. Through a number of analyses, we explore how Internet access and digital skills impact online contribution to the community in terms of services and resources considered to be basic social needs: health, employment, education, and social media. These social needs, what we have called Vital Internet Use (VIU) can determine citizens’ political and civic participation, societal contribution, and overall benefit to their communities. Centered on the concepts of digital access, Internet skills, and benefit outcomes, we extend knowledge in this domain and propose a comprehensive framework of VIU.     

The social uses of Internet in Mexico: A case study

The telecommunication sector is creating and developing new uses for information and communications technologies. In a context of services, it has become important to take into account the diversity of potential uses of telecommunication technology. The purpose of this paper is to understand how are the users built up in the case of Internet in Mexico in the frame of social diversity and the construction of a democracy.The focus will be:

• 1.To analyse the main economic and political actors that are defining the social uses of Internet in Mexico.
• 2.To describe the main services that Internet is providing to users.
• 3.To select a small sample of users in Mexico in order to apply them a questionnaire that could let us know the new patterns of behaviour and emergence of new practices.

Are these services responding to social demands in order to increase the plurality of voices and freedom of expression?     

Turkish diasporic responses to the Taksim Square protests: Legacy media and social media uses in Belgium,the Netherlands and Germany

Based on an offline and online survey of 967 people of Turkish origin living in these countries, we test how legacy and social media have influenced the participation of the members of the Turkish diaspora in Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands in the mid-2013 protests in Turkey’s social movement referred to as Gezi Park. This study also investigates how living in Europe can influence the behavior and attitudes of the sampled individuals from the Turkish Diaspora of Germany, Belgium and Netherlands during the period when the Gezi Park demonstration took place. Our results make it clear that social media were used by those who supported the protest movement, while those who opposed the protest movement primarily used or followed traditional sources of media, including Turkish and European television. Furthermore, supporters amongst the diaspora for the Gezi-protests were primarily active in accruing social capital through bonding and social networking among those who belong to the Turkish diaspora under the guise of the Gezi Park protests. Finally, a significant number of the supporters of the protests in the three countries took part in several different means of supporting the movement, including: disseminating awareness about the Gezi protests through social media, engaging in meetings, and in some cases, even severing contact with friends and acquaintances who did not share their support for the protest movement.     

Social media use,political affect,and participation among university students in urban China

Although the role of affects and emotions in political participation has attracted much scholarly attention, few studies have examined whether and how media and communications can be the sources of political affects. This study argues that social media are not only information channels; they can also be effective in communicating feelings and emotions. Social media use may contribute to political affects, which in turn impinge on civic and political participation. In addition, political affects may moderate the effects of social media use on political participation. Based on a survey of university students in Guangzhou, China (N = 897), this study finds that, under China’s networked authoritarianism, political communication via social media is related to positive affects toward the government and society, while connection with activists via social media is related to negative affect. Positive and negative affects have different impact on different types of participation. Negative affects strengthen the connection between social media use and participation. The roles of three discrete negative emotions – anger, anxiety and fear – are also explored.