ABSTRACT
The Indignados movement is, like most movements nowadays, active both in the online and the offline spheres. Techno-optimism identifies a strong influence of the new information and communication technologies, and that this influence is beneficial for democracy and society. A social movement relies on empty signifiers. These signifiers are potentially empty terms, and can as such be filled with any content, and are key mechanisms for creating unity among groups, which initially might not identify with each other. The way social media function, with accessibility to a wide audience as well as ownership of the production of material, brings up important issues of subjectivity. Social media could play a role in the creation of a movement’s subjectivity, and it is therefore central to assess the mechanisms by which social movements function in the virtual. Social movement theorists and media theorists argue over how the Internet has affected political protest and there are roughly two main sides in the debate.
