Cyberactivism and Real-World Activism: Why Are Users Different?

Abstract

Cyberactivism, as civic engagement, is enabled by social media, and has attracted many users to participate in leading social change. To shed more light on the relationship between cyberactivism and real-world (social) activism, within a quantitative approach, employing correlational research design, and a group comparison research design, the current research examined two linear regression models for the relationships among online sharing, homophily, attitudinal influenceability, and behavioral influenceability, and also, among behavioral influenceability, cyberactivism and social activism, and then examined the effects of sociodemographic characteristics of Iranian Instagram users on these variables in a 393-participant sample. The alternative hypotheses about the relationships among the variables in these two models, were retained. The results also showed that age, gender, and occupational status had effects on almost all variables. This study contributes to the existing literature by introducing attitudinal and behavioral influenceability as important factors influencing cyberactivism and social activism. It encourages governments to take full advantage of online activities and cyberactivism to promote social participation and real-world activism, especially among youth and females, to transcend society, and better solve societal and global problems with the collective wisdom.