Introduction As low levels of "conventional" participation are noted, the pattern of participation in political issues is changing. Political protest is on the rise in all its forms, from petition signing (which requires minimal effort) to public demonstrations and violent protests (the other extreme) (Moyser, 2003). This essay will focus on political protest in its most extreme form: the form of legal and illegal mass protests. In the wake of the 21st century, technology is rapidly spreading to every corner of the globe, and access to the Internet, smartphones and computers is easier than ever. Social media is one of the most important uses of these technologies, especially by young people, but the use of social media by other demographic segments of society is increasing. The number of social media users is increasing every second and the amount of statuses, tweets, images and videos they produce is more than overwhelming. There are over 1.15 billion Facebook users and over 500 million users of both Google+ and Twitter, with the number growing every day (Ajmera, 2013). Additionally, over 23% of Facebook users log in more than 5 times a day! (ibid) Various types of social media have brought with them new opportunities and methods to express oneself and gain popular support. They brought new means and methods to mobilize society, whatever the objective. This essay will attempt to analyze how social media influences the way protests are organized and executed, and how the consequences of a protest can be influenced by them. The impacts discussed and explained in this article are: a) social media offers an alternative channel of coverage of events, which is not controlled by governments, thus changing the perception of... middle of paper... 2. Fitzpatrick, A ., (2013, June 3) Turkish protesters take to Twitter while local media turns a blind eye. Mashable. Retrieved January 7, 2014, from http://mashable.com/2013/06/03/twitter-turkey-protests/Letshc, C., (2013, December 28) Turkey: Erdogan under new pressure to resign as protesters begin to the streets. The Guardian. Retrieved January 6, 2014, from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/28/erdogan-pression-quit-turkey-protestsLevinson, C. (2005) Egypt's growing blogger community pushes the envelope of dissent. Christian Science Monitor, 24 August.Moyser, G. (2003) ´Political Participation´in: Axtmann, R.(ed.) Understanding Democratic Politics. London: Sage Publications, pp.174-187.Tadros, S., (2011, February 2) The Story of the Egyptian Revolution. American thinker. Retrieved from http://www.americanthinker.com/2011/02/the_story_of_the_egiziano_revo.html