Is it a trigger for action in front of new media information/communication?

The article called “Blogs and Bullets” (p. 7) conveys to the readers the appealing statement that “new media might play an intermediary role but is neither necessary nor sufficient for contentious politics.” Then it goes further to say, that “The impact of new media can be better understood through a framework that considers five levels of analysis: individual transformation, intergroup transformation, collective action, regime policies, and external attention” (p. 3).
Speaking about the impact at the level of the individual the authors argue that “Some individuals may develop new competencies through their exposure to or participation in new media, allowing them to participate more readily or effectively in real world politics or to process information differently…Alternatively, new media could make citizens more passive, by leading them to confuse online rhetoric with substantial political action , diverting their attention away from productive activities.”(p. 9)
I believe that the issue confronting the “new media” dilemma of the individual’s participation versus his/hers passivity should be well understood in order to identify, in a scientific way, how to pull the trigger that leads to action as a result of a given information. Before offering any opinion about this issue, it is important to recognize that prior to new media and with new media –at least in a democratic country- is after each one to participate in the dialectic process within the public sphere should take place , so as to be able to craft into the public’s opinion and achieve social change.
Maybe one of the triggers that lead to the action of individuals and inspires or “obligates” them to take part in a given process is the perception that their ideas and interests are challenged in a certain way. As a result they chose to act or not, according to those ideas and interest, and depending of their subjective evaluation of the cost/benefits and the perceived chance of success based in a particular criteria of the law of probability.

Agustin Fornell