SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON : EXAMINING THE CHANGING LANDSCAPE OF SOCIAL ACTIVISM IN THE DIGITAL ERA

Jessica Hartl Majcher

A Thesis

Submitted to the Graduate College of Bowling Green State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of

MASTER OF ARTS

December 2017

Committee:

Catherine H. Stein, Advisor

Dale Klopfer

Carolyn Tompsett

© 2017

Jessica Hartl Majcher

All Rights Reserved iii ABSTRACT

Catherine H. Stein, Advisor

The present study explored the nature of social justice discussions on the social networking site Tumblr using publicly available data from Tumblr posts generated between

March 16, 2016 and March 30, 2016. Posts were self-identified by users with at least one of five common related to social justice identified in a pilot study on Tumblr. These hashtags were #, #, #Racism, #Social Justice, and #SJW, an abbreviation for

“” a phrase used to label individuals who engage in social justice discussions online. Findings indicated that posts about social justice are common on Tumblr with

15,160 public posts created by 8,794 users across the two weeks. However, not all posts reflect a positive attitude toward social justice with 8.6% of posts expressing disagreement or even hostility toward movements promoting equality. Data from the present study were compared to data collected in the pilot study to describe consistency and differences in results using the same methodology at two different time points for two different lengths of time. Implications of study findings for clinical and research purposes are discussed.

iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my teachers, supervisors, colleagues, and mentors who have inspired, challenged, and encouraged me through the years. Above all, I extend my deepest thanks to my advisor, Dr. Catherine Stein for her trust in my abilities, her special knack for helping me see the big picture when I would get caught up in the minutiae, her always timely sense of humor, and her enduring patience and support throughout this process. I would also like to thank my committee members, Drs. Tompsett and Klopfer for their insights and guidance which contributed to this project as well as my development as a researcher and future psychologist. I am grateful for my cohort members and fellow clinical-community graduate students who have serve as mutual support as we walk this road through graduate school together. I would also like to thank my family and friends near and far for their support.

Finally, I would like to express my deep appreciation to my husband, Jeffrey Majcher who has provided both technical and emotional support, not only on this project, but also in my personal and professional growth. v

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

INTRODUCTION ...... 1

LITERATURE REVIEW ...... 3

Social Justice and Community Psychology ...... 3

Citizen Participation ...... 3

Social Media, Social Consciousness, and Social Justice ...... 9

Social Justice and Tumblr ...... 15

PILOT STUDY ...... 17

A Preliminary Investigation of Social Justice on Tumblr ...... 17

Results of Pilot Study ...... 17

Implications of Pilot Study ...... 19

PRESENT STUDY ...... 20

METHOD ...... 21

Participants ...... 21

Context ...... 21

Procedure ...... 22

Measures ...... 22

Data Analysis Approach ...... 22

RESULTS ...... 24

Number of Posts ...... 24

Number of Users ...... 24

Additional Hashtags Utilized ...... 25

vi

Accumulation of Notes ...... 27

Sentiments about Social Justice ...... 28

Comparing #Social Justice in the Present Study to the Pilot Study ...... 29

DISCUSSION ...... 31

Study Limitations ...... 34

Implications for Future Research and Action ...... 35

REFERENCES ...... 38

APPENDIX A. BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY HUMAN

SUBJECTS REVIEW BOARD EXEMPTION LETTER ...... 44

APPENDIX B. FIGURES ...... 45

APPENDIX C. TABLES ...... 49

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 1

INTRODUCTION

Community psychologists have a longstanding commitment to the systematic understanding of social justice issues and citizen participation as they relate to individual well- being and positive social change (Florin & Wandersman, 1990; Kieffer, 1984; Kloos, et al. 2012;

Prilleltensky, 2012; Rappaport, 1977; Stone & Levine, 1985; Zimmerman, 2000). Traditional theories of social advocacy emphasize the importance of social consciousness-raising as a critical first step in citizen participation, empowerment, and social action (Hill, Bond, Mulvey, &

Terenzio, 2000; Kieffer, 1984; Mulvey, 1988; Prilleltensky, 2012; Weitz, 1982). Theories suggest that individuals’ observation or experience of social oppression can be a catalyst for them to engage in social justice activities and take on social activist roles. However, our understanding of the influence of in individuals’ consciousness-raising about social justice issues is in its initial stages. Online communities are becoming more prevalent in people’s lives (Duggan, 2015) and microblogging platforms can facilitate connections between

like-minded individuals around the globe. Microblogs are social networks that allow users to

generate and distribute information in posts with self-assigned hashtags identifying the general

content.

Researchers have acknowledged that microblogs can have a dramatic impact in the public

sphere (Graeff, Stempeck, & Zuckerman, 2014; Newman, 2011; Small, 2011; Vitak, et al., 2010)

and have begun studying the ways civic participation is changing in the digital era (Bennett,

Freelon, & Wells, 2010; Shah, Cho, Eveland & Kwak, 2005; Weinstein, 2014). The

microblogging website Tumblr in particular has a reputation for its social justice-oriented

community (Hillman, Procyk, & Neustaedter, 2014). However, there remain many questions

about the nature of online discourse regarding social justice issues and the impact social media

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 2 has on civic participation. Relatively little is known about the basic types of social justice discussions that are occurring on social media. Such basic research is fundamental to theories of citizen participation, social action, and individual well-being in a digital world.

The present research examines discussions of social justice on the microblogging website

known as Tumblr. The primary goal of the study is to describe the frequency and nature of issues

labeled by users as involving social justice that are posted on Tumblr over the course of a two-

week period and gauge the rate of dissemination of such content among users.

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 3

LITERATURE REVIEW

Social Justice and Community Psychology

As a discipline, community psychology is interested in understanding reciprocal relationships between individuals and social systems within a community context. Community psychology is largely concerned with individuals who have been marginalized by society and the ways that disenfranchised groups can take action to locate and develop needed resources and capitalize on existing strengths (Kloos, et al., 2012; Rappaport, 1977). Scholars emphasize the inherently political nature of community psychology and the need for community research and action that focuses on the equitable redistribution of power and resources (Kloos, et al., 2012;

Prilleltensky, 2012; Rappaport, 1977; Zimmerman, 2000). To accomplish its goals, community psychologists typically identify problems and solutions beyond the individual level of analysis

(Hill, et al., 2000; Prilleltensky, 2012; Rappaport, 1984; Zimmerman, 2000). By moving beyond individual psychology and exploring the larger world of social systems, community psychologists often direct their inquiry and activities toward family, small group, organizational and/or institutional factors that impact individuals.

This approach to psychology is explicitly values driven. A core set of values helps to define social problems, research methods, and intervention strategies that are characteristic of community psychology. Bret Kloos and his colleagues (2012) identify seven core values in community psychology that include social justice, empowerment, and citizen participation. A number of community psychologists (Kloos, et al., 2012; Nelson & Prilleltensky, 2010;

Rappaport, 1981) consider social justice to be essential to the very definition of community psychology. Social justice refers to the distribution of resources and power within society; valuing social justice means holding the that all individuals within a society, regardless of

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 4 their background or demographics, deserve fair access to resources and opportunities in their community. Taking a social justice perspective is often related to advocacy for particular types of social policies and for changes in public attitudes (Kloos, et al., 2012). Community psychologists view systematic understanding of social justice issues as a catalyst for social change. Social justice is more than a passive value held by community psychologists; it is a driving force that motivates research and action (Kloos, et al., 2012; Prilleltensky, 2012).

This value of social justice is also related to the concept of empowerment, a process that seeks to enhance the control that people have over their own lives (Kloos, et al., 2012;

Zimmerman, 2000). Empowerment cuts across multiple levels of analysis, as it involves improving access to resources and power. An empowerment approach emphasizes that community participants take an active role in decisions that have a direct impact on their lives

(Zimmerman, 2000). The process by which goals are achieved is as important as the outcomes; change processes are empowering when they give community participants additional control, the ability to obtain resources, and help them develop a critical understanding of their social environment (Prilleltensky, 2012; Zimmerman, 2000). Recognition of the value of empowerment in community psychology focuses the discipline on understanding power dynamics and opportunities for people to have power and control in their lives (Kloos, et al., 2012; Rappaport,

1981).

Citizen Participation

Citizen participation is the meaningful involvement of community members in decisions that directly affect them (Florin & Wandersman, 1990; Kloos, et al., 2012; Prilleltensky, 2012).

Studies suggest that individuals who participate in community organizations report increased activism and involvement, a greater sense of personal control and competence, and a decreased

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 5 sense of alienation toward the world around them (Kieffer, 1984; Prilleltensky, 2012;

Zimmerman, 2000). Citizen participation is related to the concept of empowerment, as individuals who have a sense of empowerment have been found to be more likely to report engaging in civic activities (Kloos, et al., 2012). Charles Kieffer (1984) emphasized research on empowerment and citizen participation as an alternative to the vast amount of social science research focused on individual powerlessness, alienation, and political detachment. In a study consisting of qualitative interviews with activists, Kieffer (1984) found a direct link between participation and empowerment; in order to feel empowered, people had to be directly impacted by conditions of injustice and then actively work towards the resolution of these problems.

Citizen participation, empowerment, and social justice are important, in part, because they have been shown to have a positive relation with individual psychological well-being

(Kloos et al., 2012; Prilleltensky, 2012; Stone & Levine, 1985). For example, Russell Stone and

Adeline Levine’s (1985) study comparing 24 families of community activists to 34 families of

non-activists found that activists felt better about themselves, in addition to having stronger

feelings of political efficacy. The work of Isaac Prilleltensky (2012) connected concepts of social

justice and empowerment with individual psychological well-being. Prilleltensky (2012) found

that individuals who considered themselves as empowered and participated in their community

also reported having higher objective and subjective well-being.

Prilleltensky (2012) identified a continuum of social justice as well as a continuum of

individual well-being; these continua can be linked at four points through a series of

psychosocial processes. In explaining this model, Prilleltensky asserted that conditions of justice

predispose people to certain conditions of well-being, and individuals move along these linked

continua from stages of “suffering” to “thriving.” According to Prilleltensky, when persistent

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 6 conditions of injustice exist, individuals are likely to experience oppression and feel a sense of helplessness, which leads to suffering. When individuals confront the injustice, the conditions of injustice become vulnerable. As part of this “confronting stage,” marginalized groups have

“critical experiences” that raises their “critical consciousness” of inequality and moves them to take “critical action” to promote social justice (Prilleltensky, 2012, p. 16). In the next stage, individuals are “coping” with suboptimal conditions of justice; these individuals can use

downward comparisons to other oppressed groups to see that their own situation is tolerable, and

so they find ways to adapt to or compensate for the social justice deficits that exist. The final

stage, “thriving” is when a group of individuals experiences optimal conditions of justice. The

goals for individuals at this stage are prevention, promotion of the current conditions, and

maintenance of the status quo. Prilleltensky’s (2012) framework emphasizes that people are a

product of their social conditions and their overall sense of well-being interacts with their degree

of power and privilege in society. When conditions of injustice exist and individuals take action

against oppression, they view themselves as changing their social worlds; improving conditions

of justice is linked to improvements in their psychological well-being.

One of the questions of interest to the field of community psychology is the process by

which individuals become involved in social activism and civic participation. Kieffer (1984)

conducted a qualitative study to examine this process through interviews with 15 individuals

who were active participants in organizations in their local communities. Each

individual selected to participate in the study self-identified as an activist who had experienced a

clear transition from a state of “powerlessness” to leadership roles in local organizations.

Through a “dialogic analysis” that consistently referred back to the interview transcripts and the

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 7 participants themselves, Kieffer identified four stages that individuals go through as they transform from uninvolved, disenfranchised individuals to empowered social activists.

The first stage in this developmental framework, the “Era of Entry,” is perhaps the most important because it is the turning point from a state of powerlessness toward empowerment.

According to Kieffer, individuals in this stage have a strong sense of attachment to their community and perceive tangible or intangible threats to the group. This “mobilizing episode” motivates these individuals to alter their sense of relation to the powers that be and reactively engage in order to seek change. In the “Era of Advancement,” these burgeoning activists cultivate relationships with mentors and supportive peers as they develop a more nuanced understanding of social and political relations. The more individuals are involved, the deeper their understanding grows; as their understanding deepens, the more motivated they feel to act for change. The third stage of Kieffer’s framework is the “Era of Incorporation.” During this stage, the activists described “growing up” and facing an “identity crisis” as they refined their organizational and leadership skills while they navigated role conflicts and their self-concept matured (Kieffer, 1984, p. 23-24). Finally, in the “Era of Commitment” these activists described a sense of competence and mastery in their relation to the political environment. During this last stage, activists continue to search for meaningful ways to apply their new abilities and insights

(Kieffer, 1984).

In general, community psychologists view raising consciousness about social justice issues as a critical part of promoting advocacy, action, and social change. Both Kieffer and

Prilleltensky described the importance of awareness in the process of becoming more active in seeking to change issues of social injustice. Prilleltensky (2012) referred to this recognition as the development of a “critical consciousness,” in which conditions of injustice are acknowledged

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 8 along with the realization that people can change the social climate (p. 16). Part of the process of developing a critical consciousness is the use of “righteous comparisons” in which individuals recognize that their group does not have “the same freedom of choice or political liberties” as other, more privileged groups, and they demand justice (Prilleltensky, 2012, p. 17). Once an individual or group develops a critical consciousness through these righteous comparisons, they are thought to confront the injustice and act to make change. Although Kieffer asserts that consciousness-raising alone may not be sufficient for this process to begin, Prilleltensky’s and

Kieffer’s conceptualizations are similar in that they both emphasize the importance of consciousness on an individual’s trajectory as a social activist and engaged citizen.

The idea of consciousness-raising has also been described by feminist psychologists

(Hill, et al., 2000; Mulvey, 1988; Weitz, 1982). From a feminist perspective, an individual’s context matters because social conditions influence individual well-being, and can be a motivation for social action when an individual is at odds with the dominant culture or social climate. Thus, consciousness-raising is a first step toward empowerment (Mulvey, 1988).

Consciousness-raising refers to the practice of examining one’s personal experience and involves

“learning to see the relationships among individual feelings, life situations, and the broader socio-political context,” and this awareness can “facilitate the mobilization of previously unseen or unavailable resources necessary to create more lasting change” (Mulvey, 1988, p. 76). The process of consciousness-raising is a social one in which people share their experiences, including negative ones, and affirm the experiences of others. As awareness grows, some individuals become motivated to implement interventions or seek collective action to change conditions of injustice. This notion is related to the idea that “the personal is political” (Hanisch,

1970). Seemingly minor occurrences in everyday life maintain the structure of power of the

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 9 dominant culture in society. The recognizes that many of these so-called

“personal” problems are not the fault of individuals, but rather are the result of systematic oppression.

Social Media, Social Consciousness, and Social Justice

Social media is a powerful force in facilitating connections and information exchange among people across the globe. Social media refers to “user-driven technologies such as blogs, social networks, and video-sharing platforms” (Smith, 2009, p. 559). These technologies allow users to establish web-based communities that create and disseminate content on a variety of topics. Yet, the role of social media as a means of consciousness-raising about various types of social injustice is only beginning to be systematically studied. Interestingly, theoretical

frameworks for social justice and consciousness-raising described by Kieffer (1984) and

Prilleltensky (2012) could not or do not speak to the potential influence of social media on the

process of social consciousness-raising, advocacy, and social change.

Online communities on social media platforms currently play an important role in

individuals’ daily lives and their use is quite prevalent across demographic groups. A recent

study by the Pew Research Center using a nationally representative sample found that 85% of

adults in the use the internet (Duggan, 2015) and 76% of adult internet users

participate on a social networking site (Perrin, 2015). Barry Wellman (2002) described a process called “glocalization” whereby the internet expands users’ social worlds by connecting them to others around the world, while at the same time connecting them more deeply to the place where they live. In other words, the social connections and interactions individuals have online can impact their everyday lives in tangible ways. Online communities make certain populations more accessible, both to researchers (Denissen, Neumann, & van Zalk, 2010; Nosek, Banaji, &

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 10

Greenwald, 2002) but also to individuals of minority populations (Eriksen, 2007; Knouse &

Webb, 2001), facilitating connections between people with common interests, concerns, or

experiences from disparate locations, who may feel isolated in their offline lives. Online

communities have the potential through their representation of diverse groups and active

discussion of salient issues to affect the public sphere (Papacharissi, 2004).

Microblogging is one type of social networking activity, in which users post content on a

wide range of topics. Microblogs utilize hashtags, denoted by a hash mark (#), which are self-

assigned keywords that allow searching of specific topics. On microblogging , such as

Twitter which reported an average of more than 500 million posts (known as tweets) per day

(Krikorian, 2013), hashtags allow users to find content that is of interest to them. Hashtags that

are used on many posts at a given time are said to be “trending.” Through the use of hashtags,

information is disseminated at real time to other users of the . This rapid spread of

information can have a dramatic impact, as information can be spread to the public by social

media more quickly than by the conventional mainstream media (Newman, 2011; Small, 2011).

The use of microblogging sites to raise awareness of social injustice has been referred to as

“” by the mainstream media (Augenbraun, 2011; Carr, 2012). Hashtags for these

social issues on popular websites create for individuals to discuss issues important to

them; the large audience of these sites amplifies their voices and can garner attention for issues

of social concern.

Additionally, social media can influence events offline. For example, the social media

outcry after the death of in Florida drew greater public attention than the initial

mainstream media coverage of the event, eventually leading to the prosecution of George

Zimmerman in the case (Graeff, et al., 2014). A study of 2,253 adults conducted a few months

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 11 prior to the 2012 election by the Pew Research Center found that 39% of adults engaged in some form of political activity on social networking sites such as and (Smith, 2013).

Of these politically engaged social media users, approximately 83% were involved in social or political issues offline through activities such as attending a political meeting, sending a letter through the mail to their government representatives, signing a paper , or making a political contribution (Smith, 2013). In another study of 2,253 adults by the Pew Research

Center, 25% of adults who use social networking sites reported they became more active in a political issue after discussing it or reading about it online (Rainie & Smith, 2012). Social media campaigns played a key role in the 2008 election in the United States. Jessica Vitak and her colleagues (2010) conducted a cross-sectional, survey-based study of 683 undergraduate students’ Facebook use as well as their participation in political activities over the month prior to the 2008 presidential election. This study found that political participation on Facebook, such as posting a politically oriented status or “liking” a political candidate’s Facebook page, was a significant predictor for other political activities, such as volunteering for an organization or

signing a paper or online petition (Vitak, et al., 2010). However, this study also found that the

most common forms of political activity both online and offline were informational; activities

that required more time and effort were less common than activities that were more easily

accomplished.

Political blogging is thought to be a social and collaborative process between bloggers

and readers (Baumer, Sueyoshi, & Tomlinson, 2011). Due to the public nature of many online

communities, Quentin Jones (1997) likened internet research methods to “virtual archaeology,”

in which researchers contextualize publicly available data to learn about the social climate. Zizi

Papacharissi (2014) applied this approach to the study of hashtags, utilizing a content analysis of

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 12

2,807 users’ posts that had been assigned a trending hashtag on Twitter over a six-month period;

she concluded that users’ posts can be likened to “mini narratives” that connect the private self to

public conversations. As such, the act of publicly sharing these personal narratives can bear

resemblance to a political act, blurring the line between the personal and political in

unprecedented ways.

Civic participation is changing in the digital era. W. Lance Bennett and his colleagues

(2010) described this transition from “dutiful citizenship” to “actualizing citizenship” (p. 128).

Dutiful citizenship refers to the traditional view of civic engagement as an obligation, involving

the acquisition of information from authoritative gatekeepers, such as newspapers and television

newscasts (Bennett, et al., 2010). Bennett and his colleagues (2010) coined the term “actualizing

citizenship” to refer to “personally expressive politics” as it occurs on social networks where

information is shared and verified via peer-to-peer relationships promoting political engagement

(p. 128). The participatory nature of social media means that users create and distribute the content that is important to them. This is a dramatic shift from the way information was distributed in the past. Before social media, most citizens were passive receivers of information from the mainstream news media or from special interest groups; social media enables citizens to become more active in this process and can bring attention to issues of concern that have not been adequately covered in more traditional outlets (Bennett, et al., 2010). Bennett and his colleagues (2010) challenge their readers that the lines between personal and political have become less meaningful in the digital era, and our understanding of what constitutes “civic participation” may need to change to reflect the impact of digital activism.

Some researchers have begun examining the relation between individuals’ online and offline social behavior. A recent -analysis reported that 80% of studies of digital activism

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 13 found positive relations between social media use and civic participation, but left questions regarding the nature of these relations (Boulianne, 2015). Dhavan Shah and his colleagues

(2005) administered surveys at three-time points (February 1999, June 2000, and November

2000) to a representative sample of 1,315 adult internet users regarding their online and offline

civic activities, specifically, their use of physical newspapers, use of television news, online

information seeking, offline interpersonal discussions about politics, online interactive civic

messaging, and civic participation. Civic participation was measured by asking participants how

often they did volunteer work, worked on a community project, attended a club, community, or

neighborhood meeting, or worked on behalf of a social group or cause. This study found that

social media complements the use of traditional media to facilitate political discussion, and that

both social and traditional media outlets in turn influence active civic participation (Shah et al.,

2005).

Emily Weinstein (2014) conducted qualitative interviews with 70 civically engaged youth

aged 15 to 25 regarding their use of social media for political purposes. Participants in this study

were identified by the researchers for their civic work, which included “traditional forms of

political engagement.” This study identified three patterns for these activists’ online behavior.

They termed the first of these patterns as “blended,” meaning the individuals’ online

presentations matched their level of civic engagement offline; they advocated for the same issues

on their social media accounts as they did in their offline work as activists. The second pattern

was called “bounded” and referred to individuals who viewed their online persona as distinct

from their offline identity as an activist; their online activities did not reflect the issues they

advocated for in their offline work. The researchers called the final pattern between online and

offline behaviors “differentiated,” reflecting a more nuanced approach to online self-

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 14 presentation; these individuals varied their self-presentation regarding their identity as activists across different social media platforms, using some platforms to advocate for the issues of their concern, while using others for unrelated reasons.

Online feminist bloggers and journalists have written about how the internet can be a

“toxic” environment for those who discuss issues related to social justice; feminist bloggers face verbal attacks from both without and within the movement (Goldberg, 2014). Clearly, there can be a personal and social price to be paid to speak in online public forums about social justice issues. Due to the public nature of online discourse, these communities can be viewed and used by individuals holding views in contrast to these groups. These individuals, often referred to as

“trolls,” infiltrate discussion forums, comment threads, and hashtags and post disruptive, hostile messages (Herring, Job-Sluder, Scheckler, & Barab, 2002). Although trolls are present on a wide variety of websites, users who discuss issues faced by non-mainstream populations, such as feminists and ethnic or religious minorities, are particularly vulnerable to discriminatory attacks from trolls. Trolls often invade feminist spaces and insult community participants, challenging the validity of their concerns about social injustice.

However, other social justice-oriented bloggers sometimes attack other seemingly like- minded bloggers over minor transgressions of . Michelle Goldberg (2014) described backlash from the black feminist community in response to white feminist bloggers who had excluded, perhaps unintentionally, women of color from an otherwise well-meaning

movement. Goldberg’s article launched an online debate about the relation between white and

non-white feminists (Badahur, 2014; Thelandersson, 2014). This case may represent a critique

about the value of intersectionality, the feminist concern with the intersection of different

elements of an individual’s identity, including their gender, race, class, or sexual orientation

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 15

(Thelandersson, 2014). Some individuals on social justice forums engage in censorship of political incorrectness to an extreme that can be described as “tone policing” (Goldberg, 2014;

Thelandersson, 2014). Tone policing seems to extend beyond the “righteous comparisons” described by Prilleltensky (2012) which are used to draw attention to issues of concern, as it is sometimes used as a silencing tactic. Tone policing in online discussions of social justice can become spiteful, with vicious verbal attacks launched at bloggers who misspeak or unwittingly violate the social norms of these online groups.

These attackers have been given the moniker of “social justice warriors” (often abbreviated as SJW) by other online bloggers who disagree with the idea of tone policing for political correctness (Kain, 2014). Erik Kain identifies two definitions of social justice warrior: according to critics of the social justice community, a social justice warrior is “someone who uses social justice issues like , , etc. to push a political agenda and personally benefit.” However, those who have had this title applied to them often feel that this is a label given whenever someone discusses social justice issues, whether or not they push an agenda or personally benefit from those discussions, as a means of shutting down such discussions. From this perspective, “social justice warrior” is a term used by trolls to dismiss individuals who talk about social justice issues online.

Social Justice and Tumblr

Although these kinds of political and social justice discussions take place across many microblogging websites, users of the website Tumblr in particular have developed a reputation for being concerned with social justice (Hillman, et al., 2014). As of July 2017, Tumblr has about 354 million registered accounts. According to Alexa.com, a website that tracks web traffic on various websites for marketing purposes, individuals in the United States make up the largest

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 16 portion of visitors to Tumblr (nearly 35% of the website’s traffic, as of July 2017). A study by the Pew Research Center estimated that 10% of American adults who use the internet use

Tumblr (Duggan, 2015).

Tumblr users create and distribute content in posts, which may consist of text, photos, videos, or audio files. Users are limited to 250 posts a day, but text posts do not have limitations on character length, as is the case on some other microblogs like Twitter. When creating posts, users assign hashtags which allow other users to join discussions around particular topics of interest. Posts may be assigned up to 30 hashtags, although only the first five hashtags are used for caching posts to make them readily searchable by other Tumblr users. Users can express their views about posts generated by other users by “liking” (showing support or agreement of the post) or “” (disseminating the post onto the user’s blog to be visible to that user’s followers, with the option of adding commentary). The total number of likes and reblogs a post receives is presented in aggregate as a count of “notes” on the post.

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 17

PILOT STUDY

A Preliminary Investigation of Hashtag Social Justice on Tumblr

To begin to address issues of social justice as expressed by individuals in an online

community, a pilot study was conducted in March 2015 to examine the nature of the use of

hashtag social justice (#Social Justice) on Tumblr. Specifically, the researcher was interested in

identifying a method to extract posts about social justice issues from Tumblr, describing the

general content of posts with #Social Justice as reflected by hashtags used in addition to #Social

Justice, examining the distribution of social justice views via the number of “notes” on #Social

Justice posts, and considering the proportion of “pro” and “anti” social justice sentiment

reflected in the posts. For the pilot study, data were extracted or “scraped” from all posts using

#Social Justice over a seven-day period from March 29, 2015 to April 4, 2015. Data was

collected through use of web scraper software called Outwit Hub to collect the following information from each post: user names of the accounts which generated the posts, text content of posts, other hashtags used on the posts, the date and time of posts, and the number of notes on each post.

Results of Pilot Study

A total of 533 posts were generated by 439 users over the seven-day period. On the first day of scraping, 69 posts received a mean of 13.25 notes (range=0-319; median=1; SD=46.6).

By the seventh day, posts across the week had received a mean of 35.11 notes (range=0-4,059; median = 2; SD=255.2). Accumulation of notes for the posts that were scraped for all seven days was examined to determine the crucial time period for distribution (see Figure 1). Within the first three days, the posts obtained 93.3% of their total weekly notes; this pattern suggests that the

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 18 first days are the most significant for dissemination, with distribution significantly diminishing after the third day for most posts.

Posts that used additional hashtags were examined to determine the general content of the posts. 516 (96.8% of all posts) used multiple hashtags and were therefore included in this analysis. Many unique hashtags (n=2,517) were used in conjunction with hashtag social justice.

A small proportion of these (n=271; 10.8%) of these were used on two or more posts, reflecting multiple users posting regarding similar topics. Three hashtags were identified as being most

prevalent in the sample: hashtag feminism (n=109), hashtag SJW (an abbreviation of “social

justice warrior”; n=93), and hashtag racism (n=79). After these three, there was significantly few

posts sharing hashtags; the next most commonly used hashtag (a tie between “anti SJW” and

“equality”) were used on only 26 posts each (see Figure 2 for the total number of posts under

each of the ten most commonly used hashtags).

I also examined the number of notes received on posts identified by one of the ten most

commonly used hashtags (see Figure 3). The three most used hashtags also received a high

number of notes (number of notes across seven days on hashtag feminism posts=3,066; hashtag

SJW=2,472; hashtag racism = 2,282). The combined number and distribution of these posts

suggest that feminism and racism represent the topics most commonly discussed and

disseminated in the hashtag social justice community on Tumblr during this time period. The

prevalence of hashtag SJW suggests that Tumblr users also commonly talk about the nature of

the social justice discourse and the people engaged in these topics. Two other hashtags received

as many (hashtag politics; number of notes across seven days=2,603) or more (hashtag SJ, an

abbreviation for social justice; number of notes=4,446) notes than the other most commonly used

hashtags; however, these hashtags were only used on 21 and 20 posts respectively. This suggests

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 19 that although there were fewer posts identified with hashtag politics or hashtag SJ, they nonetheless received great dissemination in the Tumblr community.

The general social justice sentiment was assessed by considering the usernames and the hashtags used in conjunction with hashtag social justice. For example, hashtags or usernames derived from variations of “anti-social justice” and “anti-feminism” were determined to have an

“anti” social justice sentiment. There were 41 posts identified as having anti-social justice sentiments, representing 7.9% of the sample. The majority of posts (n=475; 92.1%) had a positive or neutral sentiment.

Implications of Pilot Study

Overall, the findings from this pilot study suggest that Tumblr was active in creating and disseminating content about social justice issues. Results suggest that dissemination of posts as indexed by “notes” was most likely to occur within the first three days of posting. Findings also suggest that not all #Social Justice posts were positive. Hundreds of topics were discussed in this

, with issues relating to feminism and racism being commonly discussed and

distributed; the community also commonly discussed the nature of social justice discourse.

Although limited in some respects, this pilot study was useful in providing basic

descriptive information about online discussions of social justice issues on Tumblr. Furthermore,

a functional method was developed to collect aggregate data from Tumblr posts about social

justice for a particular period of time. The researcher was able to meaningfully analyze this

public information to describe types of social justice discussions, both positive and negative, that

took place on Tumblr in a given time period and obtained information about the dissemination of

social justice discussions over time. The pilot study provides an important foundation for a more

in-depth study of social justice issues on Tumblr.

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 20

PRESENT STUDY

The present research examined the nature of social justice discussions on the social networking site Tumblr. This study is an extension of previous pilot work to provide a more nuanced picture of social justice discussions found on Tumblr. Specifically, the present study used a two-week time period to examine the general content of posts about social justice issues using five common hashtags related to social justice on Tumblr. Based on pilot data, the following hashtags were tracked in the present study: social justice, feminism, racism, SJW and black lives matter. The study also examined the distribution of posts via the number of “notes” on the posts, and tracked the proportion of “pro” and “anti” social justice sentiment reflected in the posts over the two-week period. The major goal of the study was to provide basic descriptive information about the use of Tumblr as a source of exchange about social justice issues over an arbitrary two-week period. Data from the study was also compared to data collected in the pilot study to describe consistency and differences in results using the same methodology at two different time points for two different lengths of time.

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 21

METHOD

Participants

The sample included users who posted content during a specified 14-day period (March

16, 2016 – March 30, 2016) using one of the following hashtags on Tumblr: social justice,

feminism, racism, SJW, and black lives matter. Posts and metadata on Tumblr are publicly

available content. Data were included from a total of 15,160 posts across the two-week period

identified with at least one of these five hashtags; posts were included in this study if they

remained publicly visible for five days after posting. Therefore, data collection concluded on

April 4, 2016. The web scraper collected the following information from each post: user names

of the accounts which generated posts, text content of posts, other hashtags used on posts, the

date and time of posts, and the number of notes on each post.

Context

The time period for data collection was selected prospectively. During these two weeks,

notable world events included wars in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, Libya, Afghanistan, and Somalia, the

European migrant crisis, protests in , the Flint water crisis, the spread of the Zika virus, and

North Korean nuclear missile testing. Terrorist attacks occurred in Istanbul, Turkey (4 dead, 36

injured) on March 19th, Brussels, Belgium (32 dead, 340 injured) on March 22nd, and Lahore,

Pakistan (75 dead, 340 injured) on March 27th. An EgyptAir flight was hijacked and diverted to

Cyprus on March 29th; all 63 passengers and crew members survived unharmed, and the hijacker

(who was described by investigators as “psychologically unstable”) was arrested. In the United

States, the 2016 presidential campaigns were well under way, with primaries held in five states

the day before data collection began, and with additional primaries or caucuses held in six states

during data collection. President visited Cuba from March 20th to 22nd, the first

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 22 sitting president to do so since 1928. These news have social justice implications and

reflect potential topics social justice bloggers may have blogged about during this study.

Procedure

The Human Subjects Review Board (HSRB) at Bowling Green State University deemed

this project as exempt from review because data was collected from publicly available web

content. In the present study, data was extracted from five Tumblr hashtags using web scraper

software, Outwit Hub Pro. In addition to hashtag social justice, the three hashtags in the pilot

study that were most commonly used were selected for inclusion in the present study (i.e.,

feminism, racism, and SJW). In addition, the hashtag “Black Lives Matter” was included due to

the popularity and influence this hashtag has had in the media. All posts with at least one of these

hashtags generated within a two-week period were scraped with additional data for each post

tracked for five days. Thus, the process of scraping data lasted for 19 days in order to collect full

distribution data for posts generated on the fourteenth day across five days. This length of time

was chosen based on the distribution pattern found in the pilot study. Three days seemed to be

the critical period for a post in which it is “liked” and disseminated to other blogs, but an

additional two days of scraping per post were included in order to better describe the data and to

allow for differences from the pattern noted in the pilot data.

Measures

The following data were collected from all posts with one of the five hashtags of

interest: user names of the accounts which generated posts, text content of posts, other hashtags

used on posts, the date and time of posts, and the number of notes on each post.

Data Analysis Approach

Scraped data was analyzed for descriptive purposes, including the total number of posts

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 23 for each of the five hashtags, the number of users generating content, the patterns of dissemination based on the number of notes on each post, and the pro- or anti- social justice

sentiment of the posts. Social justice sentiment as well as the general content of posts were

identified by analyzing the other hashtags used on the posts.

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 24

RESULTS

Number of Posts

Tumblr posts assigned the hashtag Black Lives Matter, Feminism, Racism, SJW, or

Social Justice that were created between March 16, 2016 and March 30, 2016 were each scraped

for five days after initial posting. Scraping concluded on April 4, 2016 after collecting

dissemination data from posts generated on March 30, 2016. A total of 4,873 posts had been

assigned #Black Lives Matter; 9,744 posts were tagged #Feminism; #Racism was used on 5,903

posts; there were 927 #SJW posts; and, 810 posts had been tagged #Social Justice. Some posts

were identified with more than one of the hashtags of interest; data were scraped from 20,991

posts in total.

Posts were included in further analyses if they had remained publicly visible for five days

to continue scraping dissemination data. After removing posts from the sample that did not meet

this criterion, there remained 3,453 #Black Lives Matter posts, 7,464 #Feminism posts, 3,450

#Racism posts, 852 #SJW posts, and 751 #Social Justice posts. Table 1 summarizes posts

scraped and ultimately included in analysis. A total of 15,160 unique posts were included in the

study across the five hashtags of interest.

Number of Users

The Black Lives Matter hashtag was used by 1,039 users. The number of posts per user

ranged from 1-612 posts, with an average of 3.3 posts per user (SD=21.3). 5,288 users assigned

hashtag Feminism to their posts. Each user posted a range of 1-56 times, averaging 1.4 posts per

user (SD=2.0). Hashtag Racism was utilized by 2,533 users, with a range of 1-43 and average of

1.4 posts per user (SD=1.8). Hashtag Social Justice was assigned to the posts of 490 users. These

users posted 1-34 times each with this hashtag, and averaged 1.5 posts per user (SD=2.3).

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 25

Finally, posts tagged SJW were generated by 512 unique users, ranging 1-41 and averaging 1.7 posts per user (SD=2.7). These data are reflected in Table 2.

Across the five hashtags, there were a total of 8,794 users who posted content (M=1.72 posts; SD=7.67) that were included in this study.

Additional Hashtags Utilized

Out of the 15,160 unique posts on Tumblr using the hashtags Black Lives Matter,

Feminism, Racism, SJW, or Social Justice, there were 14,652 posts (96.6%) that assigned additional hashtags which provided further information about the content of these posts. Due to

Tumblr’s hashtag system which only caches the first five hashtags on a post, the analysis of hashtags in this study will be limited to the first four hashtags utilized (as the fifth hashtag was the hashtag of interest that resulted in the post being scraped for this sample). Table 3 presents data on hashtags that were used in conjunction with the five hashtags of interest for this study.

Out of 3,453 total Black Lives Matter posts, 3,391 posts (98.2%) used additional hashtags. There was a total of 2,093 unique hashtags, and 560 hashtags were used across

multiple posts. The most prevalent hashtags used with Black Lives Matter were #Melanin (used

on n=672, or 19.5% of all posts tagged Black Lives Matter), #KKK (n=618; 17.9%), #Black

Love (n=617; 17.9%), and #Black in America (n=613; 17.8%). There was a significant drop in

the number of posts using the next most common hashtag (#Video; n=178; 5.2%).

There were 7,193 out of 7.464 (96.4%) #Feminism posts that had been assigned

additional hashtags, and a total of 8,957 unique hashtags, with 2,143 of these hashtags used on

multiple posts. Hashtag Feminist (n=1,273; 17.1%) was overwhelming the most prevalent hashtag used in conjunction with #Feminism. Additionally, #Women (n=464; 6.2%), #Equality

(n=341; 4.6%), and #Sexism (n=323; 4.3%) were frequently used hashtags on #Feminism posts.

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 26

Interestingly, the hashtag that was next most frequent after these four hashtags was #Anti

Feminism (n=216; 2.9%), denoting posts that expressed sentiments in opposition to #Feminism.

During the two weeks of data collection, 3,297 out of 3,450 (95.5%) #Racism posts used additional hashtags. There were 4,462 unique hashtags, and 1,055 of these were used across different posts. The most common hashtags used with #Racism were #Race (n=179; 5.2%),

#Sexism (n=171; 5.0%), # (n=165; 4.8%). There was a slight drop in the frequency of the next most common hashtags, which were also two of the five primary hashtags scraped for this dataset: #Black Lives Matter (n=127; 3.7%) and #Feminism (n=116; 3.4%).

Of 852 hashtag SJW posts, additional hashtags were used 844 (99.1%) times, with 1,087

unique hashtags and 264 hashtags that were used repeatedly. Of these, #Anti SJW (n=223;

26.2%) and #Feminism (n=215; 25.2%) were used the most, with #Feminist (n=88; 10.3%),

#Social Justice (n=85; 10.0%), and #Anti-SJW (n=84; 9.9%) being used less frequently. Tumblr

caches hashtags according to the exact text entered by the user, therefore “#Anti SJW” (with a

space) and “#Anti-SJW” (with a hyphen) are cached separately. Two posts used both #Anti SJW

and #Anti-SJW, so there was a total of 305 (35.8%) unique #SJW posts that used one or both of

these other hashtags. It is striking that over one third of posts in the SJW hashtag are readily identifiable as antagonistic to the perspectives associated with “social justice warriors.” In

contrast, #Feminism, #Feminist, and #Social Justice were used on 330 (38.7%) of #SJW posts.

Furthermore, #Anti-SJW and/or #Anti SJW were used alongside #Feminism, #Feminist, or

#Social Justice on 109 posts.

Additional hashtags were used on 737 of 751 (98.1%) #Social Justice posts. There were

1,263 unique hashtags, 278 of which were used on multiple occasions. As in the pilot study, the

most common hashtags used together with #Social Justice were #Feminism (n=114; 15.2%),

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 27

#Racism (n=101; 13.4%), and #SJW (n=86; 11.5%). As in the pilot study, there was a notable decrease in the number of posts using the next most commonly used hashtags, #Politics (n=44;

5.9%) and #Equality (n=35; 4.7%).

Metadata attached to hashtags can indicate if a post was generated in response to an “ask”

(i.e., in response to a question submitted to the user by another Tumblr user) or as a guest

“submission” (i.e., the post was written by another user and then posted for the first time as a

guest post on another user’s blog). “Asks” represent a small number of the total posts created

during this two-week period (Black Lives Matter: n=8, 0.2%; Feminism: n=78, 1.0%; Racism:

n=146, 4.2%; SJW: n=18, 2.1%; Social Justice: n=23, 3.1%), with submissions occurring even

less frequently (Black Lives Matter: n=1, <0.01%; Feminism: n=6, <0.01%; Racism: n=23,

0.67%; SJW: n=17, 2.0%; Social Justice: n=0, 0%). These frequencies are displayed in Table 4.

Accumulation of Notes

As in the pilot study, there was a wide range in the total number of notes (i.e., the number

of times a post was “liked” or “reblogged”) on each post across the five hashtags (see Table 5).

On average after five days, posts tagged Black Lives Matter received the most notes

(mean=84.33, SD=1228.92, Range=0-63,991), whereas posts tagged Social Justice received the fewest notes on average (mean=28.42, SD=266.72, Range=0-6,954). Hashtag Feminism posts had the widest range in the number of notes per post after five days (mean=64.79, SD=1448.37,

Range=0-88,278), while hashtag SJW posts had the closest range (mean=36.55, SD=162.98,

Range=0-2,780). Finally, posts under #Racism averaged 74.27 notes per post (SD=963.39,

Range=0-43,718).

As in the pilot study, the first few days after the post is uploaded are the most critical

time period to receive notes. Across posts from all five hashtags (n=15,160), the first two days

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 28 received a comparable number of new notes (day 1 sum=366,625 new notes; day 1 mean=24.18

new notes; day 2 sum=351,371; day 2 mean=23.41), with less than half as many new notes on

the third day (sum=147,437; mean=9.76 notes), and continuing to decrease on the fourth

(sum=108,542; mean=7.31) and fifth (sum=69,712; mean=4.46) days (Figure 4).

Sentiments about Social Justice

Posts that used multiple hashtags were assessed for their general sentiment toward the

primary hashtags of interest. Tumblr users expressed complex sentiments toward these issues.

All cached hashtags that were used on multiple posts with one of the study’s five primary

hashtags were reviewed. The content of a random selection of posts within each additional

hashtag was reviewed to determine the general social justice sentiment associated with that

hashtag. Hashtags that were used on posts which contained content expressing either a varying or

negative sentiment toward social justice were coded respectively as expressing an alternative perspective (e.g., tagging a post “Black Lives Matter” and “All Lives Matter”) or an antagonistic viewpoint (e.g., tagging a post “Feminism” and “Anti Feminism”). Across the five primary hashtags, 25 additional hashtags were identified as offering an alternative perspective and 58 additional hashtags as antagonistic (see tables 6 and 7 for complete list and frequencies). Posts

that used both kinds of hashtags (an alternative perspective and an antagonistic perspective) were

coded as antagonistic. Posts that were not identified as having an alternative or antagonistic

perspective were considered to promote social justice.

Of 3,391 posts under the Black Lives Matter hashtag using multiple hashtags, 13

additional hashtags expressed an alternative perspective and 6 hashtags expressed antagonism.

These hashtags were used on 91 (2.68%) posts and 28 (0.83%) posts respectively.

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 29

There were 7,193 #Feminism posts that used multiple hashtags. 11 hashtags offered an alternative perspective on 125 (1.74% posts), and 41 hashtags were identified as antagonistic and were used across 648 (9.01%) posts.

The hashtag Racism posts used additional hashtags 3,297 times. There were four hashtags providing an alternative viewpoint that were used on 54 (1.64%) posts, and 13 hashtags indicating hostility that were used on 110 (3.34%) posts.

Users who utilized #SJW used other hashtags on 844 posts. An alternative perspective was conveyed via 8 hashtags on 14 (1.66%) posts. There were 28 hashtags that expressed antagonism or hostility toward social justice warriors. In contrast to the other four hashtags, a slight majority of posts tagged SJW (n=467; 55.33%) actually stood in contrast to the concept of social justice warriors.

Lastly, hashtag Social Justice was assigned in conjunction with other hashtags on 737 posts. Only 2 hashtags offered a different viewpoint across 5 (0.68%) posts, while 13 hashtags expressed antagonism toward social justice on 79 (10.72%) posts.

Frequencies of posts expressing alternative, antagonistic, and positive views toward

Black Lives Matter, Feminism, Racism, SJW, and Social Justice can be seen in Table 8.

Comparing #Social Justice in the Present Study to the Pilot Study

Overall, the results of the present study were consistent with the results of the pilot study

(refer to Table 9 for a side-by-side comparison of results). The pilot study was conducted over

one week from March 29 through April 4, 2015; the present study was conducted for two weeks

exactly one year later, from March 16, 2016 and April 4, 2016. In the pilot study, there were 533

posts generated by 439 users with the hashtag Social Justice. The present study scraped 810 posts tagged Social Justice, although only 751 remained publicly visible for at least five days and were

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 30 ultimately included in further analyses. These posts were created by 490 users. The pilot study tracked the 69 posts from the first day across the week. Based on these posts, it appeared that hashtag Social Justice posts received an average of 35.11 notes (range 0-4,059; SD=255.23), with the first three days reflecting the critical period for dissemination. The current study tracked

751 posts across five days. These posts received an average of 28.42 notes after five days

(range=0-6,954; SD=266.72).

Additional hashtags were used in conjunction with hashtag Social Justice at comparable proportions in the pilot study (96.8% of posts) and the present study (98.1% of posts). There were fewer unique hashtags in the present study (N=1,263) compared to the pilot study

(N=2,517), but the number of hashtags used on multiple posts remained consistent (pilot study N

=271; present study N =278). The hashtags that were used most often with hashtag Social Justice

were the same in each study: Feminism (pilot study N =109; present study N =114), Racism

(pilot study N =79; present study N =101), and SJW (pilot study N =93; present study N =86).

Due to the breath of perspectives across the other four hashtags, the process for

identifying the user’s orientation to social justice was less nuanced in the present study than the

pilot study. However, the number of posts that seemed antagonistic toward social justice, as

determined by hashtags conveying an anti-social justice sentiment remained consistent. There

were 41 posts (7.9%) determined to be anti-social justice in the pilot study, whereas the present

study identified 79 posts (10.7%).

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 31

DISCUSSION

Social activism is changing in the digital era, and the findings of this study present a landscape from which to better understand the role of microblogging websites such as Tumblr in citizen participation and advocacy for social justice. The Tumblr social justice community is active in disseminating content, with over 20,000 posts generated within two weeks in March of

2016. Hundreds of social justice topics are discussed across hashtags on Tumblr, with issues

relating to feminism and racism being the most commonly discussed and distributed. However,

not all posts about social justice are positive, with “trolls” relaying anti-social justice, anti-

diversity, and anti-feminist messages in these social justice-oriented hashtags. Similarities

between the results of the present study with a smaller pilot study conducted one year prior

suggest that these data may have remained mostly stable over the course of the year.

Approximately the same number of posts were created per day in both the pilot and the present

study (N=69 and 66, respectively) with similar distribution patterns of “notes” (i.e., “likes” and

“reblogs”), with peak accumulation occurring on the second day after posting. A comparable

percentage of posts used additional hashtags (pilot study =96.8%; present study= 98.1%) and

expressed similar proportions of anti-social justice sentiments (pilot study=7.9%; present

study=10.7%). Furthermore, the top three hashtags in this study were the same as those from the

pilot study, reflecting a fairly consistent prevalence of discussion about these issues within this

section of the Tumblr social justice community.

Out of the 20,991 posts created during these two weeks, 15,160 posts were selected for

exploratory analyses in this study due to the length of time they remained publicly visible.

Although we cannot be certain why posts did not remain publicly visible for at least five days,

there are several possible reasons. Tumblr users can select a new username at any time; the URL

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 32 for posts, which was the primary mechanism for tracking posts in this study, is linked to the

username of the account, and if users changed their name during the scraping period, the initial

URL would no longer function as a means to locate the post. Similarly, users may choose to

delete their Tumblr account at any time, which would result in the deletion of their original posts.

Other reasons original posts may not remain publicly available over time could be due to the way

other Tumblr users reacted to the post; users may decide to delete specific posts from their own

blogs if they are dissatisfied with the attention a post receives. If a user receives negative

backlash based on something they posted, they may choose to delete the post to try to minimize

this kind of feedback. Likewise, if a post goes viral, the user will become inundated with

notifications and may choose to delete the original post to stop this bombardment. Across the

primary five hashtags included in this study, the hashtag with proportionally the fewest posts

remaining visible for five days was #Racism (58.4% of #Racism posts) whereas #Social Justice

had the most posts remaining (92.7% of all #Social Justice posts).

Promoting diversity and justice remains divisive and can lead to heated debates in

modern society, with critics complaining that policies supporting diverse individuals is political

correctness and “cultural hypersensitivity run amok” (Schwartz, 2016). Many researchers and

writers (Badahur, 2014; Goldberg, 2014; Herring et al., 2002; Kain, 2014; Thelandersson, 2014)

have written about the problems that can arise during discussion or movements for these issues,

including tone policing, trolls, and backlash. Indeed, the moniker of “social justice warrior”

(SJW) developed as an insult against members of the social justice community and is used as a

silencing technique (Kain, 2014). Although four of the five hashtags of interest in this study

expressed predominantly neutral to positive sentiments toward social justice, the SJW hashtag

stood out from these with a majority of posts that were antagonistic (i.e., 55.3% of SJW posts in

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 33 this sample). Over one third of the SJW posts expressed direct opposition to these “social justice warriors” through utilization of variations of the additional hashtag “#Anti SJW.” Furthermore, the use of pro-social justice oriented hashtags, such as #Feminism, #Feminist, and #Social

Justice, which were used on 38.7% of #SJW posts may actually indicate the work of trolls infiltrating the feminist and social justice communities on Tumblr. Some posts expressing a

negative perspective of the social justice community on Tumblr were identified with other tags

which both opposed and promoted social justice. The use of these positive tags would lead to

these antagonistic posts being directly seen by the people the user is criticizing or insulting.

Indeed, nearly one third of the time that a post was tagged with both #SJW and #Feminism,

#Feminist, or # Social Justice, an additional tag labeled the post as #Anti SJW.

The other four hashtags (Black Lives Matter, Feminism, Racism, and Social Justice)

scraped from Tumblr for this study seem to reflect more neutral to positive perspectives on social

justice. Although trolls are present within the community, the majority of Tumblr users who

blog about social justice are trying to raise awareness about these issues in a more positive way.

The presence of trolls can also be found within these other sections of the social justice

community on Tumblr, but at a far smaller proportion than that found in #SJW. For example, the

use of #Anti Feminist on #Feminism posts likely denotes trolls infiltrating the Feminism hashtag.

However, even though #Anti Feminist was the fifth most prevalent hashtag used in conjunction with #Feminism, it was only found on 2.9% of these posts, suggesting that more Tumblr users are discussing or promoting feminist values than critiquing or harassing other users with these views; further evidence for this claim can be found in the use of #Equality, which was used on

4.6% of all #Feminism posts and was the third most prevalent additional hashtag in this section of the Tumblr community.

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 34

Some of the hashtags used in addition to the main hashtags of interest in this study indicate the themes of content that emerge in these posts, such as those used with #Racism. The frequent use of #Sexism (second-most prevalent hashtag; 5.0% of posts) and #Feminism (3.4% of posts) alongside #Racism reflect, at least to a certain extent, discussions around the concept of

the intersection of racial and gender identities. Additionally, the use of #Donald Trump with

#Racism at the time of data collection (March 2016) may reflect concerns about some of the

racist comments made by Donald Trump or even the fears within racial minority communities

about the impact of a possible Trump presidency.

Although the overall pattern of accumulation of “notes” was similar across all five

hashtags with the first two days being the critical time period for attention and dissemination,

there were differences in the average number of notes on posts across hashtags. Higher mean

notes per post were accumulated on #Black Lives Matter (M=84.3), # Racism (M=74.3), and

#Feminism (M=64.8) than #SJW (M=36.6) or #Social Justice (M=28.4), indicating that posts relating specifically to race or gender may receive more attention through “likes” and “reblogs” on Tumblr. These three hashtags were also used more frequently than the other two and by more users, suggesting that individuals may have certain issues that align with their values. Users may write and distribute posts about specific issues more frequently than more general posts about social justice. Furthermore, the hashtags Black Lives Matter, Racism, and Feminism may better represent the social justice community on Tumblr than #Social Justice itself.

Study Limitations

Although this study presents an important overview of the social justice community on

Tumblr, study limitations must be noted. Data were collected over an arbitrary two-week time

period. Although this data could be compared to a similar set of data from the previous year, data

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 35 is cross-sectional and may not be representative of Tumblr user activities across time. This data

reflects a snapshot of a particular time and context, and future studies are needed to better

understand patterns of use over time. Furthermore, different social media sites attract different

types of users and are utilized for different purposes. Therefore, the results of this study may not

generalize to digital advocacy on other platforms. Studies of digital advocacy on other social

media platforms are needed. This study made an initial attempt to examine the dissemination of

social justice-related content on Tumblr; however, Tumblr caches “likes” and “reblogs” in

aggregate, called “notes,” so it is unclear how often content was being shared across users’

networks of followers and how often a reader was merely clicking the “like” button after reading

a post. A vast amount of data was collected for this study, and thus analyses were limited to

broad descriptives. More information is needed regarding Tumblr users’ experiences and

motivations for blogging about social justice. Finally, there have been few studies (Boulianne,

2015; Rainie & Smith, 2012; Shah et al., 2005; Smith, 2013; Vitak et al., 2010; Weinstein, 2014)

considering the link between online and offline advocacy and activism. Although there is some

early evidence that there is a positive relation between digital advocacy and offline civic

participation, this relation has been insufficiently studied and many questions remain.

Implications for Future Research and Action

Community psychologists maintain that developing a critical consciousness of current

conditions of social injustice is the first step towards social change. Indeed, Bret Kloos (2012)

identified social justice and citizen participation as two of the seven core values of community

psychology, and other community psychologists such as Julian Rappaport (1981), Geoffrey

Nelson and Isaac Prilleltensky (2010) have asserted that the value of social justice is a defining

feature of community psychology. The participatory nature of social media allows for discussion

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 36 of issues ignored by the mainstream media and connects users with other individuals with similar values and goals, creating space for individuals to learn about and share content that is meaningful to them. Tumblr is a platform with an active community that shares this value of social justice, and some users are drawn to Tumblr for this very reason (Hillman et al, 2014). The

present study provided data showing that posts about social justice are made frequently and are

read and disseminated by other members of the community. Although some posts were negative,

the majority were neutral or positive.

It is possible that blogging about social justice on Tumblr may represent an outlet for

development of a critical consciousness as described by community psychologists (e.g.,

Prilleltensky, 2012) and feminist psychologists (Hill et al, 2000; Mulvey, 1988; Weitz, 1982).

Consciousness-raising is recognized as an important feature in moving from uninvolved citizen

to empowered and actively involved citizen (Kieffer, 1984; Mulvey, 1988; Prilleltensky, 2012).

Some researchers (e.g., Bennett et al., 2010) are beginning to consider digital advocacy to be a

new form of citizen participation. However, to my knowledge there are currently no published

scholarly articles describing Tumblr’s social justice community in the field of community

psychology.

The internet has become woven into the fabric of everyday reality with 76% of adults in

the United States using social media (Perrin, 2015) and 39% of adults engaging in political

activity online (Smith, 2013). There is evidence that online political participation leads to an

increase in traditional (i.e., offline) political and social involvement (Rainie & Smith, 2012;

Smith, 2013; Vitak et al., 2010). What is currently known about digital activism has been learned

from research conducted in other fields such as technology, political science, and

communication, as well as by the Pew Research Center. Digital activism has also been discussed

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 37 at length in mainstream media news articles and opinion pieces. Yet, research on digital activism remains uncommon in the field of psychology, in contrast to traditional forms of activism which have been studied in depth by community psychologists. This distinction between online and offline political activities may reflect an obsolete viewpoint, and only with further research will we begin to know if this distinction is reality-based or a relic of the past.

By not studying the implications of digital technology in citizen participation, community psychologists seem to be ignoring an important vehicle for average citizens around the world to promote and organize movements for change. Research is needed to explore the rise and spread

of social movements via social media (i.e., consciousness-raising and information

dissemination), as well as developing a better understanding of the integration between online

and offline activism. Furthermore, research is needed to understand the experiences, motivations,

goals, benefits, consequences, and outcomes of social justice bloggers. The concepts of

“slactivist,” “hashtag activism,” and “social justice warrior” have become commonplace in

mainstream media and culture. Assumptions are made about individuals who engage in these

behaviors, but there is a dearth of research exploring the veracity of these assumptions.

Furthermore, these movements may be likened to traditional grassroots movements for social

change, which include and value the voices of individuals of marginalized backgrounds. As

community psychologists, we have an obligation to study digital advocacy on platforms such as

Tumblr to fulfill our commitment to our core values of promoting social justice and citizen

participation.

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 38

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APPENDIX A BOWLING GREEN STATE UNIVERSITY HUMAN SUBJECTS REVIEW BOARD EXEMPTION LETTER

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 45

APPENDIX B FIGURES

Figure 1. Daily Accrual of Notes on Posts from Day 1 of Pilot Study

Note. The daily number of new “notes” (i.e., “likes” and “reblogs”) and total number of “notes” for content posted on day 1 of the pilot study.

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 46

Figure 2. Ten Most Used Hashtags in the Pilot Study

Note. Total number of posts assigned one of the ten most commonly used hashtags in the pilot study sample. Note. “SJW” is an abbreviation of the phrase “social justice warrior” and “SJ” is an abbreviation of “social justice.”

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 47

Figure 3. Total Notes on 10 Most Used Hashtags in the Pilot Study

Note. Total number of “notes” (i.e., “likes” and reblogs”) on posts assigned one of the ten most commonly used hashtags in the pilot study sample. “SJW” is an abbreviation of the phrase “social justice warrior” and “SJ” is an abbreviation of “social justice.”

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 48

Figure 4. Daily Accrual of Notes on 15,160 Posts

Note. The sum, mean, and standard deviation shown for each day along the x-axis reflect those values for the total number of notes on that day.

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 49

APPENDIX C TABLES

Table 1. Number of Posts

Hashtag Total posts scraped (N) Posts included in analysis (N (%)) Black Lives Matter 4,873 3,453 (70.9%) Feminism 9,744 7,464 (76.6%) Racism 5,903 3,450 (58.4%) SJW 927 852 (91.9%) Social Justice 810 751 (92.7%) Total 20,991 15,160 (72.2%)

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 50

Table 2. Users and Frequency of Posting

Hashtag Users (N) Posts/User (range) Posts/User (M (SD)) Black Lives Matter 1039 1-612 3.3 (21.3) Feminism 5288 1-56 1.4 (2.0) Racism 2533 1-43 1.4 (1.8) Social Justice 490 1-34 1.5 (2.3) SJW 512 1-41 1.7 (2.7) Total 8794 1-612 1.7 (7.7)

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 51

Table 3. Posts Using Additional Hashtags

Hashtag Posts Used other Unique Hashtags Most prevalent hashtags (N) (N) hashtags hashtags used across (N (%)) (N) posts (N (%)) Black 3453 3391 2093 560 (26.8%) #Melanin (N=672; 19.5%) Lives (98.3%) #KKK (N=618; 17.9% Matter #Black Love (N=617; 17.9%) #Black in America (N=613; 17.8%) Feminism 7464 7193 8957 2143 (23.9%) #Feminist (N=1,273; 17.1%) (96.4%) #Women (N=464; 6.2%) #Equality (N=341; 4.6%) #Sexism (N=323; 4.3%) #Anti Feminist (N=216; 2.9%) Racism 3450 3297 4462 1055 (23.6%) #Race (N=179; 5.2%) (95.5%) #Sexism (N=171; 5.0%) #Donald Trump (N=165; 4.8%) #Black Lives Matter (N=127; 3.7%) #Feminism (N=116; 3.4%) SJW 852 844 1087 264 (24.3%) #Anti SJW; #Anti-SJW (N=305; (99.1%) 35.8%) #Feminism (N=215; 25.2%) #Feminist (N=88; 10.3% #Social Justice (N=85; 10.0%) Social 751 737 1263 278 (22.0%) #Feminism (N=114; 15.2%) Justice (98.1%) #Racism (N=101; 13.4%) #SJW (N=86; 11.5%) #Politics (N=44; 5.9%) #Equality (N=35; 4.7%)

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 52

Table 4. Posts Generated By or In Response to Other Tumblr Users

Hashtag Post was in response to an Post was submitted by another "ask" (N (%)) user (N (%)) Black Lives Matter 8 (0.2%) 1 (<0.01%) Feminism 78 (1.0%) 6 (<0.01%) Racism 146 (4.2%) 23 (0.7%) SJW 18 (2.1%) 17 (2.0%) Social Justice 23 (3.1%) 0 (0%)

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 53

Table 5. “Notes” on Posts after Five Days

Hashtag Mean (SD) notes/post Range of notes across posts Black Lives Matter 84.33 (1228.92) 0 - 63,991 Feminism 64.79 (1448.37) 0 - 88,278 Racism 74.27 (963.39) 0 - 43,718 SJW 36.55 (162.98) 0 - 2,780 Social Justice 28.42 (266.72) 0 - 6,954 Note. Tumblr “notes” consist of “likes” and “reblogs” (i.e., sharing a post).

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 54

Table 6. Frequencies of Hashtags Denoting an Alternative Perspective

Hashtag Black Lives Feminism Racism SJW Social Matter Justice all lives are equal 6 0 0 0 0 all lives matter 58 14 13 2 0 alllivesmatter 7 4 0 2 0 blue lives matter 12 0 0 0 0 disabled lives matter 2 0 0 0 0 down with cis 0 0 0 20 0 egalitarian 0 58 0 20 0 egalitarianism 0 52 0 12 0 latino lives matter 2 0 0 0 0 meninism 0 51 0 0 0 meninists 0 8 0 0 0 menism 0 52 0 0 0 mexican lives matter 2 0 0 0 0 mra* 0 101 0 12 0 mras* 0 5 0 0 0 muslim lives matter 5 0 0 0 0 muslimlivesmatter 3 0 0 0 0 native lives matter 4 0 0 0 0 police lives matter 4 0 0 0 0 political correctness 0 0 6 6 4 racism against whites 0 0 2 0 0 reverse racism 0 4 52 11 2 trans lives matter 7 0 0 0 0 white lives matter 3 0 0 0 0 why i don't need feminism 0 2 0 0 0 * “MRA” is an acronym for “men’s rights activist”

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 55

Table 7. Frequencies of Hashtags Denoting an Antagonistic Perspective

Hashtag Black Lives Matter Feminism Racism SJW Social Justice against-sjw 0 0 7 0 0 anti feminism 0 245 11 66 10 anti feminist 0 61 0 26 0 anti feminist bullshit 0 3 0 0 0 anti feminists 0 9 0 3 0 anti feminsit 0 2 0 0 0 anti feminst 0 27 0 8 0 anti radfem 0 2 0 0 0 anti sjw 10 123 41 269 39 anti sjw bullshit 0 2 0 0 0 anti social justice 0 0 0 0 6 anti white 0 0 2 0 0 antifem 0 67 0 0 0 0 43 0 45 0 anti-feminism 0 138 0 45 9 antifeminist 0 39 0 47 0 anti-feminist 0 49 0 8 0 antifeministfemale 0 16 0 3 0 antisjw 0 5 0 9 0 anti-sjw 9 71 25 98 15 anti-sjws 0 0 0 2 2 black lives dont matter 3 0 0 0 0 blacklivesdontmatter 2 0 0 0 0 butthurt 0 2 0 0 0 call out culture 0 0 0 0 2 cisphobia 0 8 12 18 0 dear feminists 0 44 0 0 0 dumblr 0 0 0 2 4 false 0 6 0 0 0

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 56 feminazi 0 53 0 11 0 feminazis 0 5 0 0 0 feminism is a hate 0 4 0 0 0 movement feminismiscancer 0 20 0 0 0 feminist bullshit 0 13 0 0 0 feminist logic 0 3 0 0 2 feminists are stupid 0 4 0 0 0 femnazi 0 4 0 0 0 insanity 0 3 0 0 0 kill yourself 0 6 0 0 0 no lives matter 4 0 0 0 0 outrage culture 0 0 0 0 2 pro black stupidity 0 0 2 0 0 0 7 2 11 0 regressives 0 2 0 0 0 retarded 0 0 0 3 0 shitpost 0 2 3 2 0 sjw bullshit 2 30 11 60 3 sjw hypocrisy 0 4 0 0 0 sjw logic 0 12 0 37 6 sjw shit 0 0 0 6 0 sjw stupidity 0 21 0 30 0 sjw-lite 0 0 0 5 0 sjwproblems 0 0 0 2 0 small gay speaking 0 0 2 0 0 spank a SJW 0 2 0 0 0 stupidity 0 30 13 60 3 tumblr bullshit 0 0 2 3 0 tumblr feminism 0 5 0 2 0

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 57

Table 8. Sentiments toward Social Justice across Hashtags

Hashtag Alternative Antagonistic Positive or Neutral Perspective Perspective Perspective Black Lives Matter (N=3,391) 91 (2.7%) 28 (0.8%) 3,272 (96.5%) Feminism (N =7,193) 125 (1.7%) 648 (9.0%) 6,420 (89.3%) Racism (N =3,297) 54 (1.6%) 110 (3.3%) 3,133 (95.0%) SJW (N =844) 14 (1.7%) 467 (55.3%) 363 (43.0%) Social Justice (N =737) 5 (0.7%) 79 (10.7%) 653 (88.6%)

SOCIAL JUSTICE AND CITIZEN PARTICIPATION ON TUMBLR 58

Table 9. Comparison of #Social Justice between Pilot and Present Studies

Points of Comparison Pilot Study Present Study Dates 3/29/15 - 4/4/15 3/16/16-4/4/16 (1 week) (2 weeks) Posts N =533 N =751 included out of 810 scraped Users N =439 N =490 Posts from day 1 N =69 N =66 Notes after scraping period M =35.11 (SD=255.23) M =28.42 (SD=266.72) Range of notes 0 - 4,059 0 - 6,954 Additional hashtags used 96.80% 98.10% Unique hashtags N =2,517 N =1,263 Repeated hashtags N =271 N =278 Most prevalent hashtags #Feminism (N=109 posts) #Feminism (N=114 posts) #Racism (N=79 posts) #Racism (N=101 posts) #SJW (N=93 posts) #SJW (N=86 posts) Posts with anti-social justice N =41 (7.9%) N =79 (10.7%) sentiment