Tolhurst 1

Cassie Tolhurst
COMM 3050-001
4/25/16

#Hashtags&SocialMovements

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#Hashtags&SocialMovements

Introduction
The emergence of social media, Twitter and hashtags has done more than just change the
way people fill their free time. It has morphed further than viral videos and pictures of brunch
into on the ground reporting, and a way to spread information about important social issues.
Twitter has given the power to the people on the soapbox of 160 characters or less. This
interconnected web of live updates creates a new horizon of networking, information
dissemination, and interaction that has never been seen before. This shift from traditional media
sources has changed the landscape of what is possible and how social movements are created,
cultivated and spread.
This new avenue of communication is fascinating, and growing increasingly important as
people are turning to Twitter for news and communication rather than previously traditional
sources. Several studies have examined social movements like #unibrenn, #Ferguson,
#Occupywallstreet to reveal how information is shared and shaped, and most importantly by
who. This review will touch on what communication theories have been applied and shed light
on to Twitter interactions in relation to social movement, from topics on how the discussion
starts, how it is spread, interactions, who is generating the content. While social media studies
within the scientific field of communication is still relatively new, there is a lot of insightful
information available.

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Theoretical Discussion
The relationship between social movements and twitter are expanded upon by a few
theories. Jackson and Welles (2015) aimed to expand theories on networked publics, and
counterpublics. They sought to highlight the influence of social media and online activism, and
the configuration of the #Ferguson movement and network. Their research shows that networked
counterpublics are an effective way to use crowdsourced opinion to influence the discussion on
controversial topics. Other theories used to examine this subject are communication network
theory, collective action theory which look at the interactions with users and the social
movement (Agarwal, Bennett, Johnson, & Walker, 2014) Additional theories will be addressed in
the examination of the literature.
Literature Review
#Origins
Twitter and social media has been a perfect place to cultivate a social movement. Twitter
has a quick stream of short direct messages that can be a call for action where users follow a
thread of information and can attract the attention of previously uninterested and
organizationally unafliated publics. (Theocharis, Lowe, Van Deth, & Garca-Albacete, 2014, p.
203). Social movements touched on in the articles I chose often started with a single event. For
example, a small demonstration of 200 students and teachers was organized at the Vienna
Academy of Fine Arts. After only an hour news of the demonstration had spread through Twitter
and social media which grew the participating number to about 1,000 participants. The
movement didnt stop there and expanded further to other cities and universities within a week

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generating over 100,000 messages using the demonstrations hashtag #unibrent (Maireder &
Schwarzenegger, 2012).
Building upon what Maireder & Schwarzenegger (2012) found, Jackson & Welles (2015)
saw a similar development with the hashtag #Ferguson and the death of 18-year-old Michael
Brown. Twitter served as a vehicle for not only spreading the information but was an example of
how networked counter publics could draw attention to previously marginalized causes and even
influencing the conversation of mainstream media by creating the exigence that could no longer
be ignored. (Jackson & Welles, 2015)
#Spread
Twitter and hashtags are often used at the start of a current social movement, but why
does this work? Agarwal, Bennett, Johnson, & Walker (2014) illuminate the stance that Twitter
gives its users the ability to act in a collective movement while maintaining their individuality
(p. 654). They continue to expand saying that these communities and connective strings are
bound together by hashtags which enables users to connect with individuals who are like-minded
and encourages discussion of these social issues. Those created networks allow for a shift in
power, studies from Jackson & Welles (2015) show that that those who generated a lot of
interaction and spread with their posts werent only those with activism expertise, but instead
often highly marginalized counterpublics, like African-Americans, women, and young people.
This shift in who is disseminating the information is very important and unique to social
media. Within the first month of the Occupy Wall Street protests, according to Deluca, Lawson &
Sun (2012) the top 5 newspapers in the United States only published 104 stories about the
protests, but on Twitter the movement was exploding. Within the first day of the protests there

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were already 4,300 mentions on twitter about the protests, which in only weeks later hit an
average of 10,000-15,000 posts per hour during its peak. (Deluca, Lawson & Sun, 2012)
Both Jackson & Welles (2015) and Maireder & Schwarzenegger (2012) examined how
that Twitter gave voices to unorganized, underrepresented people, like minorities, women and
students, who were for the most part not politically engaged before. It created a structure
...which enabled them to perceive themselves as a collective and to act as a movement, a
community for common action. (Maireder & Schwarzenegger, 2012, p. 189). This sense of
belonging feeds into how social issues found a home with Twitter, but also the lack of real
commitment is a factor as well. It is a way to participate with the community without the
obligation of real world participation. A retweet can be considered involvement, but does not
require the user to appear physically at a protest or meeting.
#Lasting&Longevity
Due to the easy and low risk involvement the salience and longevity of social movements
started through Twitter is something that varies from movement to movement. Many of these
crowd-enabled organizations have produced remarkable effects in short periods of time, from
launching a popular constitutional assembly process in Iceland, to bringing down a regime in
Egypt, to changing the discourse on inequality in the United States. (Agarwal, et all, 2014, p.
667) Though the success of the movement depends largely on the individuals and their collective
participation. Deluca, Lawson & Sun (2012) touch on the idea that social media activism
survives on the ideal of perpetual participation.
Another facet of longevity would be changing the conversation beyond social media, into
the mainstream media. Twitter activism creates ...the potential of public interest to outweigh

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state interest in setting agendas and creating the terms for debate. (Jackson & Welles, 2015, p.
412). If the conversation is changed outside of the Twitter community, a more lasting change is
found.
Conclusion
With a cellphone in their pocket those fighting to bring awareness to social movements
and injustices by making their point in 160 characters or less and connecting to a wide network
of interconnected hashtags. Social media gives voices to those who prior to its invention had to
struggle harder to be heard. Twitter serves as the perfect platform to slacktivists.
While research is continuing to be conducted, studies on compassion fatigue and
information accuracy would be an interesting subject. The research conducted that was covered
in this review was extremely comprehensive, but I feel only scratches the surface on the subjects.
While qualitative and quantitative research was done, I think a closer examination of the
motivations behind the Twitter user and social activist would add to the already cultivated data.
The conversation about social media and social movements is just starting, especially with
political candidates like Bernie Sanders and Donald Trump. The social world is changing, a shift
in power and communication is happening and #hashtags now help keep track of it all.

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References
Agarwal, S. D., Bennett, W. L., Johnson, C. N., & Walker, S. (2014). A Model of
Crowd-Enabled Organization: Theory and Methods for Understanding
the Role of Twitter in the Occupy Protests. International Journal of
Communication, 8, 646-672.
Deluca, K. M., Lawson, S., & Sun, Y. (2012). Occupy Wall Street on the Public
Screens of Social Media: The Many Framings of the Birth of a Protest
Movement. Communication, Culture & Critique, 5(4), 483-509.
doi:10.1111/j.1753-9137.2012.01141.x.
Jackson, S. J., & Welles, B. F. (2015). #Ferguson is everywhere: Initiators in
emerging counterpublic networks. Information, Communication &
Society, 19(3), 397-418. doi:
10.1080/1369118X.2015.1106571.
Maireder, A., & Schwarzenegger, C. (2012). A movement of connected
individuals. Information, Communication & Society, 15:2, 171-195, doi:
10.1080/1369118X.2011.589908.
Theocharis, Y., Lowe, W., Deth, J. W., & Garca-Albacete, G. (2014). Using
Twitter to mobilize
protest action: Online mobilization patterns and action repertoires in
the Occupy Wall Street, Indignados, and Aganaktismenoi movements.

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Information, Communication & Society, 18(2), 202-220. doi:

10.1080/1369118X.2014.948035.