Social media, alternative media, and social movement participation: the case of Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong

During the recent wave of pro-democratic movement across the world, digital media technologies constitute a vital platform for participants to mobilize and connect with each other. This study examines (1) how social media use and alternative media use influence individual's social movement participation during the Umbrella Movement in Hong Kong, and (2) the mediating role of pro-protest attitude and perception of opinion climate supporting social protests between digital media use and social movement participation. The data come from a survey of 769 students from eight public universities in Hong Kong at the height of the Umbrella Movement. Analysis shows that surprisingly social media use is not necessarily related to social movement participation, and on the contrary it has some detrimental effects. Nevertheless, alternative media use is a robust predictor of social movement participation. Alternative media use shows both direct effects and indirect effects over social movement participation through the pro-protest attitude, rather than the perception of opinion climate. Thus, this study provides empirical evidence concerning the distinctive impacts of digital media use on social movement participation via psychological mechanisms.