Date of Award

5-2014

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Honors Thesis

Department

International Studies

First Advisor

Robert Oprisko

Second Advisor

Antonio Menendez

Abstract

By asserting that no revolution occurs singularly, I propose that revolutions occur in a multiplicity. Within the framework of the Arab Spring Revolutions, another revolution has been occurring concurrently: a social media revolution. This revolution is taking place in the digital, social media age. It is a revolution that has been tweeted, facebooked, recorded, documented and shared instantaneously on platforms that obeys few lines of political sovereignty. Revolution and political action can now truly be shown from the perspective of the common citizen. Activists have discovered a greater platform for their voices to be distributed and causes promoted. The Arab Spring Revolutions were not a simply a series of revolutions that occurred and stayed within the boundaries of their respective countries. As these insurrections have progressed and developed, the world has observed and gone with them through social media. According to Antony Mayfield, “Social media can be ‘best understood as a group of new kinds of online media, which share most or all of the following characteristics: participation, openness, conversation, community, connectedness.” An important characteristic to note about social media is that it is all user-generated content.

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