THE ROLE OF PRINT AND SOCIAL MEDIA IN SOCIAL MOVEMENTS: THE CASE OF BRING BACK OUR GIRLS

Abstract: AbstractThis thesis critically examines the impact of print and social media in a social movement by using Bring Back Our Girls as a case study, which depicts the abduction of girls by warlords in Africa. Today, due to social inequality, activists do not possess the same budget as larger companies for advertising and mass communications. Social movement campaigners depend on media coverage to gain public attention so that their voice can be heard. This study explores the role of print and social media in a social movement - the case of Bring Back Our Girls in Nigeria. A digital signage prototype was designed and developed to solve the issue of digital divide experienced by the Bring Back Our Girls advocacy group during the campaign. However, the digital signage turns the four stages of conventional social movements, which are Emergence, Coalescence, Bureaucratisation, and Decline. For example, if the movement is on bureaucratisation and a new channel is added, people will go back to emergence stage. This prototype, when fully developed, could be used to create awareness and to reach people in rural areas. This study used two research paths, primary and secondary. Primary research is conducted using two main methods: interviews (focus group interview) and a questionnaire. The focus group consisted of fifteen people, fourteen males and one female, although many female activists were invited, only one attended the meeting because of the socio-economic factor in Nigeria and the focus questions were open-ended. In addition, a questionnaire was designed for the evaluation of the prototype. The focus group interview focused on the examination of the role played by the print and social media platforms during the BBOG campaign and the questionnaire focused on the digital signage. The study also examined how a prototype of digital signage is designed by using the Microsoft PowerPoint Application. Secondary research was conducted using literature, online material, articles, e-books, etc., to gain an in-depth understanding of the role of print media, social media, social movement, design science, prototype design, resource mobilisation theory (RMT), social mobilisation, and digital divide. Specific research methods were identified based on the theoretical perspective chosen by the author. Both quantitative and qualitative data gathered in this study suggest that print and social media have some positive impacts on social movement and some of the participants claimed that they had been informed of Boko Haram’s rampage and the abduction of the Chibok girls through print media, such as newspapers, magazines, roadside posters, and billboards.Moreover, some participants claimed that they became aware of the BBOG campaign through social media like Facebook, Twitter, etc. The focus group interviews led to identification of six key themes. These were, information and intelligence gathering, social and print media education, information sharing, religious or tribal sentiment, communication, and networking and advocacy. Also, there are a number of sub-themes, which are discussed at length within the analysis of the report. The general findings are that the BBOG campaign movement was first noticed on electronic media, but became viral and sporadic in print and social media. Despite the cultural and religious differences in Nigeria, the campaigners came together to solicit for the rescue of the Chibok Girls.