Study of the Role and Impact of SNS in Protests

Abstract
This study explores how social media act as a tool to communicate with the government and the world through the research of the role of social media and the processes by which people can be mobilized to engage in protests. Focusing primarily on Facebook and Instagram as Social Networking Sites (SNS), the study uses survey data collected through Typeform online survey (N=100). Findings indicate that the frequency of SNS has been strongly correlated with protest activities. SNS promoted on-site news consumption and political speech, which in turn facilitated protest participation. Despite the prevalence of incidental exposure to news on SNS, the exposure did not give rise to more political action, such as the voicing of political opinions on SNS.