Pagpupumiglas: An Analysis of the Motivation, Discourse, and Impact of the Social Media Movement #Tumindig Using the Virtual Collective Consciousness by Neil M. Alperstein

The #Tumindig social movement brought upon a collective call for change under the utilization of Philippine Twitter in standing up against the country’s social issues. Since this is a relatively new topic, there is a lack of studies regarding the #Tumindig social movement. The present study seeks to analyze and understand the different factors that greatly influence the social movement which focuses on the motivation, discourse, and impact through using the Virtual Collective Consciousness framework by Neil M. Alperstein. With these—the motivation, discourse, and impact—behind the #Tumindig may provide insights regarding how exposure to social movements online, gain support and how Filipino Twitter users respond to the movement. The researchers utilizes a humanities inquiry approach by gathering 121 tweets using the aforementioned framework. These tweets were interpreted using content analysis which aims to analyze and interpret the meaning of qualitative data. It was found that the supporters of the movement contributed in addressing issues in the Philippine landscape through discourse, contesting ideologies, performing activism, in which perspectives are openly expressed by them to open more channels for engagement due to the “shared relevance” experienced by various groups, organizations, and individuals, they were able to be connected through the help of the hashtag, which mobilized them for social change. This demonstrates how social movements operate in both a celebrity (being them as forerunners) and leader-less environment driven by the virtual collective consciousness in the idea of solidarity against oppressive systems in the Philippines