The hashtag heard around the world: social media users’ perceptions and responses to the #MeToo hashtag

ABSTRACT Since the advent of the #MeToo hashtag, there have been both praises and criticisms of its use as part of the #MeToo movement. The present study uses expectancy violation theory (EVT) as a guiding framework to examine response expectations among posters of the #MeToo hashtag on social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter, and the extent to which these expectations were confirmed or violated by observers of the #MeToo hashtag postings online. This investigation is the first of its kind to provide an initial assessment of the effectiveness of the social media component for the #MeToo campaign (i.e., use of the #MeToo hashtag). We analyzed the survey responses for 193 participants (26 posters; 167 observers), asking posters what they expected and received as responses to their #MeToo hashtag posts, and observers about their expected and actual responses to the #MeToo postings of others in their social network. A thematic analysis was performed, and results offered some insights into response expectations for both posters and observers, as well as extent to which expectations were met, and what that means for the #MeToo campaign.