Tweeting Taksim communication power and social media advocacy in the Taksim square protests

Abstract

The extent to which social media empower individuals represents a fruitful yet untapped area of communication research. This study explores the phenomenon whereby individuals exert their influence and seek change in a particular case of social media engagement—the Taksim Square protests in Turkey in 2013. Building from literatures in social media engagement and empowerment, and using Bandura’s theory of self-efficacy, we content analyzed 770 Taksim-related messages on Twitter. Results suggest that efforts to seek change in social media are realized through information dissemination more than through calls to action and social organization. Namely, social media users seek influence through vicarious experience—representation of the experience of others—than direct personal experience. From these findings, we argue that social media is used to effect change from a distance, and that content ownership and online reputation are driving forces of online participation in an issue.