Graduate Program
College Student Affairs
Degree Name
Master of Science (MS)
Semester of Degree Completion
2017
Thesis Director
Dianne Timm
Abstract
Social media has become a tool for college students to engage in social activism. Black undergraduate students is one population that actively utilize social media's impact as illustrated through recent activist movements and demonstrations within university communities. This study sought to explore and analyze the ways that Black undergraduate students utilize social media platforms in general and for activism. The researcher conducted one-on-one interviews with three Black undergraduate students and analyzed their posts on each of their frequently used social media platforms in order to study how their personal narratives were connected to their social media use.
Results showed that participants frequently utilize social media to engage in social activism through information acquisition and dispersal, discourse with peers, or mainstream media critique, but do not frequently participate in large-scale physical acts of activism such as demonstrations or protesting.
Recommended Citation
Richards, Tayla, "An Analysis of Black Undergraduate Students' Social Activism through Social Media Usage" (2017). Masters Theses. 2686.
https://thekeep.eiu.edu/theses/2686
Included in
African American Studies Commons, Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Ethnicity in Communication Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons, Social Media Commons, Student Counseling and Personnel Services Commons
