5th ISA Forum of Sociology (6-11 July 2025)

Social movements have been significantly reshaped by new technologies over the past
several decades. The spread of digital media, such as social media and mobile devices,
has transformed activism and the repertoire of collective action, particularly since the
early 2000s. Important case studies like the Umbrella Movement, M-15 or Los
Indignados, and the Arab Springs have developed new theories of collective action and
demonstrated the key role that digital media play in today's resource mobilization
efforts.
Thousands of activists can now engage in a campaign from a distance and help spread
the message via social media, as through hashtag activism. However, this online
participation has received much criticism and has been dismissed by some as
slacktivism or clicktivism, ineffective forms of virtue signaling. In recent years, social
media has also been used to mobilize far-right nationalist and conspiracy theory
movements worldwide, such as QAnon.
More recently, the pervasive rise of datafication and algorithmic governance has
led some activists to begin to critically interrogate data practices and infrastructure
directly. This new phenomenon of 'data activism'; utilizes the power of data to challenge
existing power relations and promote social change, including what some have referred
to as ‘algorithmic resistance’ or the ‘contentious politics of data.' Additionally, the
concept of 'datafied movements'; has been introduced to explain how social movement
processes are changing under the pressure of datafication.
The present session invites theoretical, methodological, and case study contributions to
the study of the complex intersection of activism and new technology, from digital media
to datafication. It welcomes critical approaches that demonstrate how digital media and
data have transformed activism and challenge our current understanding of collective
action.