Communicating beyond Information? Mobile Phones and Mobilization to Offline Protests in China

The past decade has seen an increase in the use of the mobile phone as a facilitator for political protests. Yet, to date, how the use of mobile phones affects participation in protests remains unclear. This study employs the distinction between communication and metacommunication to investigate the informational and relational dimensions of the mobile phone in protest mobilization in four cases in China. By drawing upon fifty-three in-depth interviews, the results reveal that, in addition to communicating mobilizing information, participants metacommunicate their mutual relationships via mobile phones in the mobilization process, and this shapes the practice of information exchange and the interpretation of information. As the pivotal driving force for protest participation, this metacommunication involves an engagement of reciprocal relationships, generates a sense of mutual engagement, and enhances a feeling of solidarity. The dynamic of the mobile phone as a facilitator in protest lies in its embedding of metacommunication beyond information dissemination.