Abstract
In 2023, while France vibrates to the rhythm of demonstrations for pension reform, another front is stirring, quieter but just as powerful: social networks. Every generation has its challenge, ours will be pension reform, exclaims a union leader, not in a public square, but in a tweet shared thousands of times. Hashtags become rallying cries, Facebook publications, calls for mobilization, a window behind the scenes of a historic movement.
Digital technology has brought us into a new age of politics, with technologies that should allow citizens to take part in public decision-making and mobilize for the general interest. Our generation has therefore become more aspiring to a more collaborative world. The challenge is to change things by participating in establishing solid democracies, non-defiant democracies far from anger and renunciation, as in the case of social and protest movement for pension reform in France in the year of 2023. So can digital technology and its promises be part of the answer? What is the real impact of ICT's on collective action?
Extract
[...] Sources - Kafka (2020) Obama: The internet is "the single biggest threat to our democracy", Vox 16 Nov 2020, Link - Anderson, J and Rainie L. (2020) 'Concerns about democracy in the digital age', Pew Research Center Link - Guess, A., & Lyons, B. (2020). Misinformation, Disinformation, and Online Propaganda. In N. Persily & J. Tucker (Eds.), Social Media and Democracy: The State of the Field, Prospects for Reform. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, pp. 10-33. - Roginsky, S. [...]
[...] The mobilization against the pension reform had been amplified by calls on Facebook bringing together millions of demonstrators. On Twitter, more than a million tweets were sucked in, sent by 243,000 different users. Proof that this mobilization goes beyond the usual activists, even the popular YouTubers has entered into resistance. In an exhaustive thread, journalist Vincent Manilève noted the Instagram posts and tweets of influential superstars like EnjoyPhoenix, Seb la Frite, Joyca and Inoxtag. This was a completely exceptional first for media personalities who very often avoid political subjects so as not to divide their audiences. [...]
[...] How have social networks transformed the protest into a viral phenomenon, uniting millions of voices in a digital fight for social justice? Introduction In 2023, while France vibrates to the rhythm of demonstrations for pension reform, another front is stirring, quieter but just as powerful: social networks. Every generation has its challenge, ours will be pension reform, exclaims a union leader, not in a public square, but in a tweet shared thousands of times. Hashtags become rallying cries, Facebook publications, calls for mobilization, a window behind the scenes of a historic movement. [...]
[...] (2020) "Who are professional politicians talking to? The making of Members of the European Parliament's audiences on Twitter and Facebook". Journal of Applied Journalism & Media Studies, Volume Issue 2 - Mergetts, Hellen et al. (2020) Political Turbulence: How Social Media Shape Collective Action. Princeton: Princeton University Press. [...]
[...] A figure that increases from year to year. More than omnipresent, social networks have revolutionized the way of communicating, interacting with others, obtaining information but also making one's voice heard in our connected society. Digital technologies played a crucial role as the pension reform movement took place. Social networks have made activist engagement easier. Digital connectivity has allowed speakers, volunteers and activists to find people who share compatible ideas necessary to form a community, in the sense of a collective. [...]
