“How cavemen did social media”: A comparative case study of social movement organisations using Twitter to mobilise on climate change

Abstract

In the face of widespread public disillusionment with traditional politics the internet is emerging as a popular tool for increasing public participation in social and political activism. Little research has been performed, however, on how social movement organisations are using the internet and in particular increasingly popular social networking services to mobilise individuals. Accordingly, this thesis presents a comparative case study of three climate change campaigns’ Twitter accounts aiming to identify and analyse the ways they are using it as part of their mobilisation efforts. Use of Twitter varied across all three, reflecting campaign design. However, each case displayed efforts to establish and use online ties and networks to facilitate and sustain participation in low-risk, moderate and symbolic forms of online and offline action. Such findings will provide inspiration for movement activists seeking to use the internet to mobilise on climate change, and open up to greater academic attention the role of social networking services in movement mobilisation.