The Role of Social Media in Protest Political Participation of Citizens

Abstract

This article is devoted to the analysis of the role of social networks in the protest political participation of citizens in the 2010s. The author notes that the spread of Internet technologies contributed to the technologization and networking of political protest. A special role in this regard is played by social internet-media, which act as both traditional and social media. Based on this, the author analyzes how social networks affect the protest political mobilization of citizens, contribute to the organization and coordination of protest actions. The article concludes that social networks transform individual procedures and technologies of protest participation, but do not change its essential characteristics and do not act as a reason for the formation of political protests.

Keywords

• social media, internet, political protest, political participation, communication