การเคลื่อนไหวทางสังคมด้านการเมืองในยุคดิจิทัล : กรณีศึกษาการคัดค้านร่างพระราชบัญญัตินิรโทษกรรมและการต่อต้านระบบซิงเกิลเกตเวย์

Abstract

                   Social movement is a collective effort of the public to demand for changes in social aspects according to the direction desired by the public. The advancement of digital media, particularly social media, has significantlyfacilitated social movements. Concerning the fact that digital media provides a two-way communication, receivers can change their status to senders of the message, which consequently leads to the distribution of the power of communication. Likewise, digital media has an influenceon social conglomerate and cooperation in engaging in a particular activity in virtual world. Accordingly, social movements in political issues in the Digital Age are relatively more feasible than in the Age of Mass Communication, as apparent in the case of the protests against the Amnesty Bill in 2013 and the single gateway system. Such case studies illustrate the public’s utilization of digital media in social movements that eventually led to success, wherein the government had promulgated to reject the constitution in both cases. Thus, digital media can be regarded as a media that enables people to express their thoughts or ideas, which is a mechanism of democracy. Nonetheless, social and political movements in the Digital Age may not always be successful. It is important to take into consideration the social values, beliefs, ideologies of dominant parties in social institutions, and social movements.