Flyktningengasjement i sosiale medier. Et mediepraksisperspektiv på flyktningsituasjonen i 2015
This chapter is based on a quantitative study of Norwegians’ social media engagement for helping refugees in Norway in 2015, and how this was related to other acts and forms of help. I argue for and utilize a social and practice oriented media-perspective in which I conceptualize social media as practice and connected to other forms of practice in the social space. I find that social media, Facebook in particular, was part of disseminating attention and engagement for helping refugees rapidly all over Norway. As such, Facebook manifested itself as an infrastructure for the mobilization and organizing of volunteer contributions during the refugee situation. However, the scope of social media-assisted volunteer contributions was relatively small compared to the contributions through established voluntary organizations. Likewise, the established media-channels were also more important than social media for the spread of information on how to contribute. Based on this study, I claim that social media as an infrastructure for the mobilization and organizing of volunteer contributions serves a supplemental, albeit important function compared to established infrastructures. Social media supplement the established media and voluntary organizations by increasing the speed and geographical scope of mobilizing and organizing collective action.