Advocacy 2.0: An Analysis of How Advocacy Groups in the United States Perceive and Use Social Media as Tools for Facilitating Civic Engagement and Collective Action

Abstract

Can social media promote civic engagement and collective action? Advocacy organizations think so. Obar, Zube, and Lampe surveyed 169 individuals from 53 advocacy groups of diverse interests and sizes and identified a revealing trend. All groups admitted that they use social media technologies to communicate with citizens almost every day. Respondents also believe that social media enable them to accomplish their advocacy and organizational goals across a range of specified activities. The authors note that the relationship between this and real political and ideological change is still speculative, but suggest that future studies can build on their research.