THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CROWD BEHAVIOR AND THE OPERATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

Since the Twitter Revolution and the penetration of the Internet, social media has dramatically altered how the world interacts and responds to crisis. The United States Army has yet to fully recognize the role social media plays in determining the organization, momentum, and scope of crowds. As demonstrated throughout history, particularly in the twenty-first century, crowds are a highly disruptive means for society to communicate their agenda for change and threaten the status quo. By decreasing the time it takes for information to spread and widening the audience to which information is accessible, social media has become one of the most influential factors in shaping the operational environment and dictating civilian-military response measures. By illustrating the impact of the social media phenomenon on the operational environment, this monograph will demonstrate the Army’s need to develop doctrine that merges its methodology and terminology into a coherent multidisciplinary approach.