Protest on-screen and on the streets examining fridays for future activists’ identification with the movement, online participation and climate change problem awareness

Abstract

Since its establishment in 2018, Fridays for Future has attracted many young people to the streets to protest for more climate protection. The global movement organises itself primarily via social media, which enables enduring connections with its supporters while offering lower barriers to participation. But who exactly does social media reach within the movement? And who participates and in which ways? To answer this question, a quantitative online survey was conducted with a sample of the movement’s participants (n = 219). Using a hierarchical cluster analysis, four groups are characterised based on their individual identification with the movement, online participation, and climate change problem awareness: the connected concerned, the concerned activists, the restrained concerned, and the unconcerned. The comparatively young sample as well as the group of the unconcerned could be an indication that social media are used as a low-threshold entry point into the social movement.