The social media life of climate change

Platforms, publics, and future imaginaries

Bibliographic Data

ID12929689
AuthorsWarren Pearce (0000-0001-6884-3854, University of Sheffield, corresponding author), Sabine Niederer (0000-0002-2074-9567, Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences), Suay M Özkula (0000-0002-1674-5491, University of Sheffield), Natalia Sánchez-Querubín (0000-0001-8515-2529, University of Amsterdam)
Year2018
Volume10
Issue2
Publication date2018-12-27
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueWiley Interdisciplinary Reviews Climate Change (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1757-7780 • E-ISSN: 1757-7799
PublisherWiley (PUBLISHER • GB)
DOI10.1002/wcc.569
OpenAlexW2906985669
LanguageEN
Citations received136
References cited76

Social media is a transformative digital technology, collapsing the “six degrees of separation” which have previously characterized many social networks, and breaking down many of the barriers to individuals communicating with each other. Some commentators suggest that this is having profound effects across society, that social media have opened up new channels for public debates and have revolutionized the communication of prominent public issues such as climate change. In this article we provide the first systematic and critical review of the literature on social media and climate change. We highlight three key findings from the literature: a substantial bias toward Twitter studies, the prevalent approaches to researching climate change on social media (publics, themes, and professional communication), and important empirical findings (the use of mainstream information sources, discussions of “settled science,” polarization, and responses to temperature anomalies). Following this, we identify gaps in the existing literature that should be addressed by future research: namely, researchers should consider qualitative studies, visual communication and alternative social media platforms to Twitter. We conclude by arguing for further research that goes beyond a focus on science communication to a deeper examination of how publics imagine climate change and its future role in social life. This article is categorized under: Perceptions, Behavior, and Communication of Climate Change > Communication

Climate change · Environmental communication · Environmental ethics · Mainstream · Media studies · Perception · Political science · Politics · Public relations · Publics · Science communication · Science education · Social media · Social science · Sociology · Transformative learning · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Environmental Education and Sustainability · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Ecology

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Open DOISci-HubOpen Access