Public Signs and Barriers. The Citizen Participation Side of Social Media and the Demand for Digital Objectivism

Online movements based on local, regional or ethnic identities and their positive effects, which support civic participation and express community solidarity, are of particular importance in evaluating digital media. To better understand the social impact of digital media, three case studies are presented. Two independent case studies – one on language use in southern Slovakia and the other on online organisations in Szeklerland – will be analysed to understand the context of online social mobilisation. Thirdly, a further case study is used to investigate the extent to which certain ideas related to competitiveness, meritocracy and consumption prevail among the domestic population, with a particular focus on university networks. Finally, it is concluded that it is important to take into account the complexity of the impact of digital media in the evaluation and not to stick to optimistic or pessimistic extremes.