Social protest through Facebook in the Greek context: the case of the 'I don't pay' movement

Abstract

Within a turbulent global socio-economic and political context, social protest becomes more pertinent and it takes various forms. Online social networks are perceived to provide an alternative way of interactivity based on shared interests, political views and activities. On the occasion of the social unrest in Greece that began in 2008 and has been reinvigorated recently following the financial bailout of Greece by its EU partners and the IMF, the paper focuses on Facebook groups interested in politics. The selected groups have been formed against the imposed financial restrictions and make part of the so called ‘I don’t pay’ movement. Adopting a social constructionist approach that is built upon the concept of ideological dilemmas, the goal is to explore and analyse the ideological resources that inform the discourse of the ‘I don’t pay’ movement, as expressed in the descriptions of Facebook groups. The analysis illustrates that social action might be triggered and informed ideologically by the everyday understandings of representative democracy rather than the financial crisis per se.