Mobile Media as an “Essential” Tool for Collective Action: Explaining Intentions for Disruptive Political Behavior in U.S. Politics
Mobile media are fundamental to social life in a growing number of ways. Beyond the mundane, the technology has come to play a meaningful role in protests and emergent demonstrations worldwide, including recent cases of political violence among far-right groups in the U.S. Drawing from the folk theo...
| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-02-01
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| Series: | Journalism and Media |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5172/4/1/18 |
| _version_ | 1797610818347466752 |
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| author | Ian Hawkins Scott W. Campbell Andrew Gelderman |
| author_facet | Ian Hawkins Scott W. Campbell Andrew Gelderman |
| author_sort | Ian Hawkins |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Mobile media are fundamental to social life in a growing number of ways. Beyond the mundane, the technology has come to play a meaningful role in protests and emergent demonstrations worldwide, including recent cases of political violence among far-right groups in the U.S. Drawing from the folk theory tradition, this study samples Alt-Right supporters to investigate how perceived essence of mobile media, particularly as a tool for collective action, is associated with willingness to engage in racially motivated and extreme political action in offline and online contexts. Findings reveal that perceptions of the mobile phone as a tool for collective action are associated with greater intentions to participate in online and offline activity explicitly in support of White people. Additionally, we find cases where links between essence and intentions are strengthened among those reporting higher levels of micro-coordination, or use of mobile media for coordinating with others in daily life. The findings indicate how everyday life perceptions and practices function and interact in ways that help explain willingness to join racially motivated calls to action among this group. The discussion offers implications for studying mobile media and collective action more broadly, especially in the context of under-researched political groups. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:20:22Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-a40cf0d414a54381a7370e400f246314 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2673-5172 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T06:20:22Z |
| publishDate | 2023-02-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Journalism and Media |
| spelling | doaj.art-a40cf0d414a54381a7370e400f2463142023-11-17T12:01:09ZengMDPI AGJournalism and Media2673-51722023-02-014125827110.3390/journalmedia4010018Mobile Media as an “Essential” Tool for Collective Action: Explaining Intentions for Disruptive Political Behavior in U.S. PoliticsIan Hawkins0Scott W. Campbell1Andrew Gelderman2Department of Communication Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USADepartment of Communication and Media, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, USADepartment of Communication Studies, College of Arts and Sciences, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL 35294, USAMobile media are fundamental to social life in a growing number of ways. Beyond the mundane, the technology has come to play a meaningful role in protests and emergent demonstrations worldwide, including recent cases of political violence among far-right groups in the U.S. Drawing from the folk theory tradition, this study samples Alt-Right supporters to investigate how perceived essence of mobile media, particularly as a tool for collective action, is associated with willingness to engage in racially motivated and extreme political action in offline and online contexts. Findings reveal that perceptions of the mobile phone as a tool for collective action are associated with greater intentions to participate in online and offline activity explicitly in support of White people. Additionally, we find cases where links between essence and intentions are strengthened among those reporting higher levels of micro-coordination, or use of mobile media for coordinating with others in daily life. The findings indicate how everyday life perceptions and practices function and interact in ways that help explain willingness to join racially motivated calls to action among this group. The discussion offers implications for studying mobile media and collective action more broadly, especially in the context of under-researched political groups.https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5172/4/1/18mobile communicationmobile mediamobile phonecollective actionpolitical participationfar-right |
| spellingShingle | Ian Hawkins Scott W. Campbell Andrew Gelderman Mobile Media as an “Essential” Tool for Collective Action: Explaining Intentions for Disruptive Political Behavior in U.S. Politics Journalism and Media mobile communication mobile media mobile phone collective action political participation far-right |
| title | Mobile Media as an “Essential” Tool for Collective Action: Explaining Intentions for Disruptive Political Behavior in U.S. Politics |
| title_full | Mobile Media as an “Essential” Tool for Collective Action: Explaining Intentions for Disruptive Political Behavior in U.S. Politics |
| title_fullStr | Mobile Media as an “Essential” Tool for Collective Action: Explaining Intentions for Disruptive Political Behavior in U.S. Politics |
| title_full_unstemmed | Mobile Media as an “Essential” Tool for Collective Action: Explaining Intentions for Disruptive Political Behavior in U.S. Politics |
| title_short | Mobile Media as an “Essential” Tool for Collective Action: Explaining Intentions for Disruptive Political Behavior in U.S. Politics |
| title_sort | mobile media as an essential tool for collective action explaining intentions for disruptive political behavior in u s politics |
| topic | mobile communication mobile media mobile phone collective action political participation far-right |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2673-5172/4/1/18 |
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