Los SMS como elemento de movilización social. Nuevas tecnologías, protestas ciudadanas e impacto mediático. La prensa catalana ante el 13-M y el macrobotellón de Barcelona

Abstract

Our article deals with the topic of the new information and communication technologies (ICT) and their influence on social mobilizations. In recent years, we have witnessed different events which demonstrate the great power of the ICT in the mobilization of social communities. The demonstrations against the headquarters of the Partido Popular (PP) on 13 March 2004 after the terrible attacks carried out two days earlier, or the protests of 17 March 2006 against Barcelona City Hall’s ban on drinking alcohol in the streets exemplify the close connection that exists between the new technologies and the preparation/organization of actions of protest. We present research which analyzes whether the principal Catalan newspapers (La Vanguardia, Avui, El Punt and El Periódico) acknowledged the importance of the influence of the ICT (above all, mobile/cell phones) during these two demonstrations.