| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立政治大學 === 亞太研究英語碩士學位學程(IMAS) === 103 === Social media plays a crucial role in recent social movements. The Arab
Spring, the Indignants protest in Spain and the Occupy Wall Street
movement in North America highlighted the special role of digital social
media networks and its contribution to the facilitation of protest
movements. This master thesis examines the role of the social media in the
“Sunflower Student Movement” in Taiwan. It argues that social media and
the “new media” have been a crucial factor to the prolongation and success
of this movement. Besides the high penetration rate of social media, such
as Facebook and LINE, among young Taiwanese, another important factor
for protestors to use social media was the mistrust in the traditional
Taiwanese media. Through the “new media” ordinary citizens could
become a part of the protest and exert the same influence as the mainstream
media. The “new media” may pave the way for a more transparent
democracy in Taiwan and raise more political awareness among the young
citizens. The research of this thesis includes information collected from
Facebook and PTT as well as the “new media”. Additionally, interviews
among participants of the Sunflower Student Movement were conducted
to assess their use of social media during the movement.
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