Alternative Media and Social Networking Sites: The Politics of Individuation and Political Participation

The rapid growth in usage of social networking sites begs a reconsideration of the meaning of mediated political participation in society. Castells (2009 Castells, M. 2009. Communication power, Oxford, , England: Oxford University Press. Google Scholar) contended that social networking sites offer a form of mass communication of the self wherein individuals can acquire a new creative autonomy. Stiegler (2009 Stiegler, B. 2009. Teleologics of the snail: The errant self wired to a WiMax network. Theory, Culture and Society, 26(2–3): 33–45. Crossref, Web of Science ® , Google Scholar) and the Ars Industrialis collective believe that the processes of individuation, and of speaking out, hold the key to empowerment, agency, and resistance. In this article the authors offer a critical reflection on the logic of mediated participation promoted by social media through a consideration of the differences between individual and collective forms of mediated political participation. Drawing on ethnographic research on alternative media within the Trade Union Movement in Britain and recent research on the political culture of social networking sites, the authors argue that far from being empowering, the logic of self-centered participation promoted by social media can represent a threat for political groups rather than an opportunity.