The anti-government protests in Bangkok, Thailand have been a prominent topic in
international media since their beginning in late 2013. It has long been known that the socalled
media battleground is considered crucial to the outcome of protests in Thailand, but
the recent political demonstrations particularly in Bangkok have again underlined the
assumptions that social networking sites such as Twitter and Facebook are essential
communication tools for gathering and mobilizing the masses. There has been a stark
contrast of content and tone of voice on social networking sites with a more drastic display
of political views compared to previous protests, which may have been more violent in
nature, but less offensive in online social networks. Hence the research observes how Thai
participatory mainstream, as highlighted by the social and political divide, question cultural
norms measured through Hofstede’s collectivism and power distance dimensions. Previous
studies also identified that “in trend” is the third most important internal motive for Thai
netizens to use Social Networking Sites. The research also aims at examining how this
‘following of trends’ challenges aforementioned cultural norms. Interviews with online
political activists and desk research are expected to highlight the victory of citizen media and
expose new forms of participation with a focus on Facebook and Twitter.
#bangkokshutdown on one hand and #respectmyvote on the other will serve as frameworks
for comparison in online political activism in Thailand. The study will look at all age groups,
including a focus on age groups that are above the prime Facebook user (between 19-28
years) and their adaption to new communication technologies in the course of online social
and political activism.
Furthermore this research intends to look into the internationalization of social media
activism and in how far it has been developed compared to political unrests in previous
years. An increase of multi-lingual and English-language content as well as imagery on social
networking sites has helped to get messages across the borders of Thailand and influence
international traditional media coverage, similar to comparable developments during the
Arab Spring