Open AccessEnvironmental Activism in the Digital Age
Author(s) -
Maëlle Jacqmarcq
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
flux
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
ISSN - 2562-6094
DOI - 10.26443/firr.v11i1.52
Subject(s) - context (archaeology) , social movement , overconsumption , environmental movement , digital ecosystem , emerging technologies , political science , the internet , digital media , public relations , politics , economics , knowledge management , computer science , geography , archaeology , artificial intelligence , production (economics) , world wide web , law , macroeconomics
The development of new digital technologies was predicted to be a boon for environmental activism. Internet and social media platforms were expected to facilitate broad bottom-up change, enabling activists worldwide to communicate and organize more effectively. However, the emergence of digital technologies may not have revolutionized the methods and impacts of activist organizations, especially for the environmental movement, wherein meaningful change has not yet been realized regarding climate change and nature preservation. Given the many challenges activists face, it is essential to understand how collective action can be undertaken with digital media to produce positive consequences for nature and human relations. Moreover, the neoliberal economic context from which digital technologies emerged and grew further accelerates environmental destruction through overproduction and overconsumption. This paper examines the relationship between environmental activism and digital technologies. While the environmental movement may have benefitted from newer organizational and communication tools on the international stage, the neoliberal economic framework in which digital technologies operate fundamentally contradicts the goals of the environmental movement.