The social movement literature has drawn on framing theory, with great success, to unpack the conditions for success in the enrollment and participation of actors within a given group. However, social movement theory was originally developed in a primarily analog social world, rather than today’s digitized one. In this conceptual paper, we re-visit the dynamics of framing theory in the context of online social movements; specifically, how digital spaces challenge existing theories of frame alignment and resonance. In contrast to earlier assumptions about what makes movements successful, particularly in transnational contexts, we argue that social media is a context where collective identity and algorithmic personalization are mutually constitutive in such a way that resonance can be achieved without deploying frames in a necessarily strategic way. As such, we unpack how the unique structure of online interactive work impacts the emergent and co-constructive way that frame resonance is achieved in digital movements, and how this may be different for short-term or long-term commitment to movements. Finally, we explore how and when the fissures that emerge in online SMO frames due to the hyper-individualization of algorithm-enabled experiences matter in reaching movement goals. We ultimately advance theory specifically related to frame alignment and frame resonance as it relates to interactive work in the digital age, suggesting that new ways of interacting online have profound impacts on the dynamics of social movements.
