Social movements on the Internet : together alone or alone together?

Abstract

Sherry Turkle in her groundbreaking book ‘Alone Together’ suggests that the Internet gives an illusion of togetherness while contributing to isolation. How might this play out in social movements on the Internet? Can social media bring people together? This research in progress explores the role of social media as a way to facilitate collective political action. It discusses the preliminary findings of a grounded theory analysis of the postings to a Spanish online social movement between July and September 2012. Informed by a sociomaterial perspective, by which the social and the technical interact symmetrically, our analysis shows that there are heterogeneous groups cohabiting in the online environment, and using information technology as a platform to make their voices heard. The challenge for them remains in gaining space in the political decision-making process that takes place offline. They may indeed have achieved being ‘together alone’, but there is still difficulty in accessing power structures that would enable them to achieve social change.