General Overview of the Research - LIKING, SHARING, AND POSTING CHANGE: THE IMPACTFUL USE OF

1 INTRODUCTION

1.2 General Overview of the Research

It was found during the research process that there has been a lot of research on social media activism in general, but very little research on specific social media tools with the exception of Twitter (Esteves del Valle and Bravo, 2018; Campbell, 2018; Guerrero-Solé, 2017; Taulé et al., 2017; Puig Abril, 2017; Bosco et al., 2016; Balcells and Padró-Solanet, 2016; Bonilla and Rosa, 2015; Ferré Pavia and Perales García, 2015; Gerbaudo, 2012;

Waseem, 2016; Carney, 2016; Yang, C. 2016; Ince, Rojas, and Davis, 2017). Facebook, which has been used widely by most movements has been significantly under-studied.

Due to the multipurpose nature of the platform, it is difficult to understand it as a whole but the time and effort it would take to understand it would be worth it because of how

useful that insight would be to social movements. Facebook as a communicative tool serves many purposes particularly for activism. It aids in communication between movements and participants, the participants themselves, and also communication with the antagonists of the movements. It also helps in the shaping of identity of individuals and movements because they are able to craft the way they present themselves online.

Additionally, it has been useful for organizing the in-person participation and ensuring clear plans of action for participants. With the recent addition of polls and fundraising options, movements can also use it for online activism beyond the initial posting, sharing, and liking that took place, which has proven to make using it more beneficial. In fact, all activity online in support of a social movement has proven to be helpful thus far and as such it should be studied and used carefully.

The Black Lives Matter movement is moving towards increased intentionality of the inclusion of social media within activism for the movement because it is being used on behalf of the movement regardless and it might as well be used as well as it has the potential to be. As a movement which in fact began online this makes sense and will certainly prove to be beneficial in the future because most of the movement’s success thus far has been at least in part due to the role that social media, and Facebook in particular has played within it. For the Catalan Independence movement, the same can be said in spite of the popularity of Twitter for movement users. Facebook has played a very important role in the very structure and existence of the movement today.

This thesis, through an analysis of Google Trends for both movements, will look at the levels of participation over time in an attempt to determine consistency or lack thereof in the movements which has been proven to contribute to the success or failure of social movements. It will also use Google Trends to determine the prominence of certain terms within the movement. The research uses surveys in order to evaluate the perception of movement participants of their involvement in their respective movements as well as how successful they believe the movement has been. Additional valuable questions asked of the participants were regarding what contributes to decreases in their participation, how the movements could be more effective, and possibly most significantly, the reasons behind their participation.

Additionally, this PhD research looks at the legal changes occurring as a result of the movement which are concrete evidence of the success or failure of social movements targeting legal change. The research also uses interviews by prominent activists and

lawyers to shape the context of social media activism as well as the history of the movements as a whole. Each research tool used has provided a unique contribution to the research and together they have made it much more well-rounded and comprehensive from every angle. Through all four of the research tools utilized in addition to a thorough analysis of the literature relating to the topic, I anticipate that I will be able to form concrete conclusions to the questions of how Facebook has been used as a tool within the movements, whether its use has been effective, and also how it can be used more effectively in the future for the movements studied and all social movements in general.

The main aim of this research is to gather information necessary to increase understanding of social media activism, and Facebook in particular as a tool for social media activism within social movements. Also, it is hoped that the existence of this research and opportunities for more research will inspire other researchers and scholars to continue research in the field because it is needed and will be extremely helpful to both present and future movements.

It is my hope that this research will help to shape and improve how social media is incorporated within social movements and also provide them with vital insight into what is effective and what is ineffective which will lead movements to be more intentional and strategic in the ways that they use social media for activism. Particularly, regarding Facebook, it is hoped that current and future activists can shape their actions and participation on the platform in a way that they will be able to achieve the maximum and necessary impact sought by them.

Ultimately, as has been stated, social media is going to be used in activism regardless and while it has been able to contribute to the whole and partial success of many social movements around the world, it can make movements much more successful if its full potential is understood.

People all around the world are creating new movements every day for very significant causes that could alter lives and potentially the entire world. It is therefore vital that they have access to the best tools that will facilitate in helping them to achieve their goals.

Even more important is their knowledge and awareness of how to best utilize those tools in order to achieve their goals and ensure that their activism is as effective as it possibly can be. I hope that this research will transcend borders, cultures, races, and any other separating factors within the human race, to help people who are passionate about change,

to achieve the necessary and desired changes regardless of who they are, what they have, who they know and where they are from. Activism is the best way to achieve this and social media activism is the best tool to make sure that that becomes a reality. It is hoped that this research will ultimately aid in empowering us as a people to make the world we live in a better place now and for future generations.

17 2 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Overview

In order to fully discuss and appreciate the complexity, beginnings, participants, successes, and failures of both the Black Lives Matter movement and the Catalan Independence movement, particularly through a look at how social media was utilised within the movements, it is first important to understand social movements in terms of why they begin and how they begin. This portion of the paper will therefore take an in depth look at what elements are needed to form a social movement, what sustains the movement, and the reasons why they begin in the first place. Highlighting information about some of the most iconic social movements like the Civil Rights Movement in the United States will serve to give perspective into how the movements studied in this paper have progressed and are similar. An understanding of social movements is the cornerstone of this research.

It is also imperative that an analysis on Social Media Activism be done in order to establish the context in which the movements are operating online, how they are similar to past movements, what they have in common with each other, as well as how they might fail or on the other hand be very successful based on the extensive research which has previously been done on the matter. In looking at Social Media Activism, there will be an examination of what platforms and tools are used within movements and what their specific purposes generally are or have been, and how they have been utilized both in the past and currently.

Then there will be a discussion of an issue which comes up every time social media activism is mentioned, which is the issue of slacktivism and whether or not online actions on behalf of social movements should be considered as slacktivism and if so when, and if not, why not. There is also the need to examine whether or not slacktivism and activism when it comes to online activity regarding a social movement, can exist simultaneously and how. The research will also speak on what the determining and separating factors are for each and it will speak briefly on how to ensure that online activism does not become slacktivism and works effectively and as intended by the movements.

After that there will be an examination of the use of Facebook as a tool specifically for activism because while this research does discuss many online platforms used in activism, the main platform it focuses on is Facebook. It will speak on how it is unique as a tool as

well as how it has been used both in the past and currently by the Black Lives Matter movement and the Catalan Independence movement, as well as many other movements that have used it in an attempt to further their success.

Following that, there will be an analysis of previous research done on Black Lives Matter as a movement, the impact it has made globally, successes, failures, and issues it has faced along the way. It will explore the reasons behind the founding of the movement as well as its evolution over time. There will be mentions of the specific instances which led to increased participation in and visibility of the movement worldwide. The research will also briefly discuss some of the similarities the movement has with the Civil Rights Movement of the past. Additionally, it will look briefly at how the movement has affected societies around the world as well as whether or not it has been able to obtain the changes sought or at least has been perceived to be successful. In looking at this, it will speak also about the backlash or counter movements that have been created as a response to the movement out of hatred for it. It will show how the movement has sought change, which groups have been impacted, and what forms the movement has taken over time as well as the impact even the existence of the movement has had on people worldwide.

Lastly, there will be an analysis and discussion of previous scholarly material on the Catalan Independence Movement. This portion of the paper will look closely at how and why the movement began, when it began, how it has transformed over the years, and what shapes the movement has taken since its inception. There will be a discussion about the relationship between Spain and Catalunya and how that relationship has evolved over time particularly as the Catalan Independence movement has involved as well. It will take a look at the journey the movement has had including the victories and failures over the years as well as possible turning points for the movement in the future. There will be a thorough analysis of how social media was and has been used for the good of the movement and which platforms have been most popular for movement participants and why. There will also be a discussion of the hashtags used for the movements and the corresponding events including the referendum that was held against the instructions of the Spanish government and subsequently rocked the entire word and its aftermath. It will also speak about how the pro-independence movement has grown over the years and the possible reasons why.

Through an analysis of all of these things; social movements, social media activism, the use of Facebook as a tool in activism, the Black Lives Matter movement, and the Catalan

Independence movement, it is hoped that the scholarly opinions and issues discussed will provide the framework for the new and original research done in this thesis.

2.2 Social Movements 2.2.1 Background

Social movements have likely existed for as long as people have had problems, as a means of allowing people to express their unified discontent with injustice, unfair treatment, unacceptable situations, and quite frankly anything they strongly believe should change.

Social movements are a way of holding those in power accountable and enabling those who are not in power to be heard and thus, share a part of that power. As the citizens outnumber those in governance, by mere democracy and numbers, people can be very effective at obtaining change once there is unity.

The question of what exactly a social movement is has been asked many times and each individual has their own understanding of the definition or perception of the answer to that question. One might even suggest that the answer to that question is unique from person to person. However, across the board there are similarities in understanding:

“Although the various definitions of movements may differ in terms of what is emphasized or accented, most are based on three or more of the following axes:

collective or joint action; change-oriented goals or claims; some extra- or non-institutional collective action; some degree of organization; and some degree of temporal continuity.” (Snow, Soule and Kriesi, 2008, p.6)

Based on this definition or identification of the key elements of social movements, every single social movement consists of collective action which speaks to the fact that a movement is a group effort and requires cooperation and unity of multiple individuals in order to even exist. Every movement also exists in order to obtain change. The purpose of any movement is to express discontent with a situation and ultimately obtain change through that expression in the appropriate forms to the appropriate audiences. Leading to the next point highlighting that every movement seeks or requires action taken by those with the power to make changes whether they be governmental, from society as a whole or from businesses or individuals. In order to achieve this, every movement must have a strategy and set in motion a plan to achieve that goal. Movements cannot exist fully without organization; there must be an agreement as to why it exists, how it will exist and

who will exist within it. Lastly, a movement is differentiated by a protest (which can take place within a movement or as a strategy of a movement) because a movement is not an event on behalf of changes desired, but a commitment to fight for change until change is achieved through multiple forms if necessary, in multiple locations if necessary, adaptable in multiple facets of everyday life if necessary for as long as is necessary. The time a movement exists for is determined by the time it takes for the powers that be to make the changes requested.

That being said, many movements do begin with people who desperately need those changes; they begin when there is a heightened sense of frustration, loss, pain, anger or sadness, and in such emotional states people are often times very passionate about the changes they need and unable to think practically about how to obtain them. Many movements become more organized over time through learning from experiences, the addition of new members with new thoughts and understanding, the input of those with expertise, and the evolution of the movement itself. However, in those beginning stages, many times people are just learning as they go along and hoping for the best. This is because for movements, similarly to

“many social situations, it is not at all clear what decision or action is correct in an objective sense. Indeed, it could be argued that most group's decisions concern questions for which there is no way of knowing what course of action is right or will work out best” (Tyler and Smith, 1995, p. 12).

The fact of the matter is that both creating and participating in a movement is a gamble but people participate in them because they feel like they have nothing left to lose if participation fails and everything to gain if it succeeds. Many people starting a movement are inexperienced and have no idea what to do in order to be successful. They participate without knowing whether or not they will be successful. However, they become involved because they desperately desire change and know that their activism is the best way they know how to do that. This concept of taking a chance or risk, and learning along the way, is what contributes to the fluidity and actual evolution of most social movements over time.

21 2.2.2 Why do social movements start?

The idea of what causes movements to begin is an interesting concept which has been explored by many authors over the years in an attempt to understand how people are affected by society and how society affects people. The simple answer is that people speak out against issues that affect them in an effort to effect change and make their lives better.

That much is obvious but the specific answer to this question varies from case to case.

An example of this is written about by Polletta and Jasper (2001), who explored the Civil Rights movement along with many other social movements that have been iconic over time. When referring to what happens they say:

“Why do movements emerge when they do? In the 1970s, resource mobilization and political process theorists stopped asking why people felt frustrated enough to engage in collective protest rather than organize through conventional political channels, and instead asked when and how they secured the resources to combat their exclusion from those channels.” (Polletta and Jasper, 2001 p.283)

The reason that people stopped asking this question of “why” is because discontentment and reasons for discontentment are made clear by the existence of the movements themselves and what the people are asking for. People take action to achieve change because change is needed.

Movements come about as a response. They come after the problem. They come when people are brave enough and committed enough to solving the problem. Movements begin when people have had enough and are unable to go on without some sort of significant change. Movements are shaped both by what participants have endured and by what is desired, and they start because of both of those things. Many times, the problem is systematic and “people learn to cope with the systematic inequality and build their

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