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Personalising climate change—how activists from Fridays for Future visualise climate action on Instagram

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  • David Shim

    (University of Groningen
    Visiting Researcher at the Chair of International Politics and Conflict Studies of the Bundeswehr University Munich)

Abstract

The visual communication of climate change by social movements has become an emerging subject of research in recent years. Much of the existing literature on visual climate change communication focuses on how environmental movements and protests are depicted by mainstream media outlets. This exploratory study examines the visual climate change communication by social movements themselves. Its focus is on one ‘new narrator’ in the mediated politics of climate change: Fridays for Future (FFF), arguably one of the most significant communicators of climate change. The research question seeks to understand how FFF activists narrate climate action through images posted on Instagram. I discuss examples from major branches of FFF and contribute to existing research by emphasising personalisation as a powerful tool in climate storytelling. The paper’s visual thematic analysis presents three themes that illustrate the personalisation of climate storytelling by FFF activists: localising the effects of global climate change, using performances to convey climate messages, and visualising contentious politics. The implications of this research further underpin the need to recognise climate activists as important actors in the visual communication of climate change.

Suggested Citation

  • David Shim, 2024. "Personalising climate change—how activists from Fridays for Future visualise climate action on Instagram," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-9, December.
    • Handle: RePEc:pal:palcom:v:11:y:2024:i:1:d:10.1057_s41599-024-03556-7
    DOI: 10.1057/s41599-024-03556-7
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Emma Frances Bloomfield & Chris Manktelow, 2021. "Climate communication and storytelling," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 167(3), pages 1-7, August.
    2. Saffron J. O'Neill & Nicholas Smith, 2014. "Climate change and visual imagery," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 5(1), pages 73-87, January.
    3. Drieschova, Alena, 2021. "The social media revolution and shifts in the climate change discourse," Global Cooperation Research Papers 29, University of Duisburg-Essen, Käte Hamburger Kolleg / Centre for Global Cooperation Research (KHK/GCR21).
    4. Linda Lütkes & Leonie Tuitjer & Peter Dirksmeier, 2023. "Sailing to save the planet? Media-produced narratives of Greta Thunberg’s trip to the UN Climate Summit in German print newspapers," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 10(1), pages 1-11, December.
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