Learning environmental activism through social networking sites?

Introduction Environmental movements, like a number of other movements, are increasingly using social networking sites (SNS) to recruit new members, to fundraise, to promote their causes and to facilitate their campaigning activity. SNS therefore enable social movement organisations to engage with a wider body of supporters, and may lead supporters to expect greater involvement in setting policy in this new public sphere or to reuse materials in unexpected ways. Are social networking sites changing the nature of the relationship between social movement organisations and their supporters and are we seeing the emergence of a new public sphere of activism? Are new forms of activist identity beginning to appear as SNS users ‘learn in and from’ movement activity (see Hall et al 2011)? To explore these questions a study was undertaken of the community of supporters linked through Friends of the Earth Scotland’s Facebook group. This study provides an opportunity to examine the potential impact of social media on the relationship between organisations and supporters to ascertain if significant changes are occurring.