Social Network Websites and Social Movement Involvement

Abstract

The Middle East revolutions in early 2011 brought attention to the involvement of online social networks in social movement activity. Using data from a survey of attendees fielded at the U.S. Social Forum (USSF), a national meeting of social movement participants, this research examines individuals who learned of the social movement event through social network websites (SNSs), such as Facebook or Twitter. Specifically, the study focuses on attendees’ offline protest activities and organizational memberships, while controlling for individual factors and other ways of hearing about the forum. Results show that learning of the USSF through SNSs significantly impacts attendees’ organizational memberships and the number of offline protests attended. Findings suggest activists should consider using SNSs to supplement more traditional social networks and information channels.