document: Collective action in the age of the Internet : mass communication and online mobilization This article examines how the Internet transforms collective action . Current practices on the Web bear witness to thriving collective action ranging from persuasive to confrontational , individual to collective , undertakings . Even more influential than direct calls for action is the indirect mobilizing influence of the Internet 's powers of mass communication , which is boosted by an antiauthoritarian ideology on the Web . Theoretically , collective action through the otherwise socially isolating computer is possible because people rely on internalized group memberships and social identities to achieve social involvement . Empirical evidence from an online survey among environmental activists and nonactivists confirms that online action is considered an equivalent alternative to offline action by activists and nonactivists alike . However , the Internet may slightly alter the motives underlying collective action and thereby alter the nature of collective action and social movements . Perhaps more fundamental is the reverse influence that successful collective action will have on the nature and function of the Internet
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