Micromobilization through live streaming : the Elin Ersson case

Abstract

Live streaming is a media innovation that enables individuals to communicate with thousands of social media users instantly. This article explores how live streaming is used to support micromobilization in the context of social activism. It focuses on the case of live streaming from an airplane by the Swedish activist Elin Ersson. This live stream aimed to prevent the deportation of an Afghani asylum-seeker from Sweden. A qualitative content analysis of both the live streamed video and the viewers’ responses is undertaken. Two typologies for Social Behavior in live streamed micromobilization are developed, namely Digital Support Behavior (DSB) and Digital Rejection Behavior (DRB). Analyzing the content of the live stream and the viewers responses according to these typologies reveals that live streaming can support individualized micromobilization.