Expressive political participation in Twitter

What is it about?

Twitter has turned into a politically oriented expressive platform during the Gezi Park protests. Building on our observations of Twitter use during the Gezi Park protests, and drawing on social influence theory, in this research, we explored social determinants of action that drive expressive political participation in Twitter.

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Why is it important?

The countrywide protests during Gezi Park events provided an excellent context to examine patterns of online political participation. Providing the merits of both qualitative and quantitative methods, we found that those who perceive a higher level of congruence between his or her values or goals with those of other Twitter users in their network and have a heightened self-awareness as a member of this group are more active in terms of expressive political participation in Twitter.