The purpose of the master thesis is to address the understanding of collective identity and the responses that manifest through social emotions and solidarity on social media. Modern identities are becoming more fluid, maintaining the relation between similarity and difference, which, through symbolic means define identities. On the basis of a constructivist approach, collective identity will be seen as constructed, and the active participation of individuals will be seen as necessary for stronger collective identification. It cannot be addressed outside social media, that is why in the theoretical part we focus on individual's representation. The study includes two qualitative research methods, multimodal analysis of social media posts and in-depth interviews with individuals who actively participated in the "movement" about the fire at Notre-Dame. The research sample consists of those who responded to the movement with criticism, because through criticism it is best to articulate opposition and belonging. Through the construction of identities and the search for affirmation, on the basis of strong emotions, individuals identified themselves as part of a collective, leading to a response on social networks with elements of collective compassion and solidarity.
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