Differential social media affordances: an actor type-centric, intermediate-level approach using the case of social movements

Baden, Christian, Heft, Annett, Vaughan, Michael ORCID: 0000-0003-3582-3296 and Pfetsch, Barbara (2025) Differential social media affordances: an actor type-centric, intermediate-level approach using the case of social movements. Communication Theory. ISSN 1050-3293

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Abstract

Social media have profoundly changed social communication practices across a vast range of contexts. To theorize these changes, numerous authors have proposed digital affordances as a conceptual lens. Yet, to date, most accounts of digital affordances either gloss broadly over cross-platform or use-dependent differences in practices; or they are highly context-specific, obstructing theoretical integration. In this article, we conceptualize social media affordances on an intermediate level of abstraction that foregrounds consequential differences in how digital social media platforms structure social communication practices. Focusing on the characteristic communication needs of social movements as an exemplary case, we identify how social media platforms present users with differential affordances for articulating public claims, building collective identities, and mobilizing contentious performances. We examine how key contextual conditions alter the value of differential affordances, potentially resulting in differential communication practices and platform preferences. We conclude by discussing key opportunities of our approach for comparative research and theory building.

Item Type:	Article
Additional Information:	© The Author(s) 2025
Divisions:	International Inequalities Institute
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HM Sociology
Date Deposited:	11 Nov 2025 12:27
Last Modified:	11 Nov 2025 12:27
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/130110

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