Activating Ecocentrism
How Young Women Environmental Activists Produce Identity on Instagram
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 7153296 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Brittany Hannouch (0000-0002-6607-8826, UNSW Sydney), Tema Milstein (0000-0002-4954-7045, UNSW Sydney, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2025 |
| Volume | 19 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 198-217 |
| Publication date | 2025-02-17 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Environmental Communication (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1752-4032 • E-ISSN: 1752-4040 |
| Publisher | Informa UK Limited (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1080/17524032.2024.2376697 |
| OpenAlex | W4402894514 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 5 |
| References cited | 51 |
The fresh face of much of today’s environmental activism is young and female, particularly visible through movements such as School Strike for Climate (SS4C). Given the pressing need for embracing and broadcasting ecocentric ways of communicating, identifying, and behaving in these times – when impacts of anthropogenic climate and environmental crises are increasingly apparent – the ecocultural discourses such activists produce for public audiences are of utmost importance. The present study illuminates ways leading young women activists produce ecocentric identities within their principal online channel of public communication, the social media platform Instagram. We identify six predominant values central to these activists’ ecocentric identities: collective over individual action, intersectionality, climate optimism, corporate and political responsibility, ethics of care, and more-than-human connection. We also illustrate ways activists operationalize these values via three main material-symbolic identity activations: holding governments and industries accountable and responsible for their role in the climate crisis; creating inclusive, diverse communities; and fostering emotional responses to the more-than-human world. While activists under study also produce their ecocentric identities in the physical world – for instance, through on-the-ground protest leadership – their online identity production communicates shared values and actions in intimate, powerful, and potentially transformative ways to mass global audiences
Aesthetics · Art · Environmental ethics · Political science · Sociology · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Gender Studies · Media Studies and Communication · Philosophy · Social Media and Politics
Ecocentrism and Anthropocentrism
On the Field of Environmental Communication
School strike for climate
We need to (find a way to) talk about … Eco-anxiety
Understanding Social Media Logic
Media Representations of Climate Change
“Even I am a Part of Nature”
Thunberg’s Way in the Climate Debate
In search of the ‘we’ of social media activism
From social movements to cloud protesting
Routledge Handbook of Ecocultural Identity
The Routledge Handbook of Ecomedia Studies
Learning to Live with Climate Change
Global Environmental Politics
Social Media and Mental Health
Why it Matters How We Frame the Environment
Online collective identity
A Small Group of Thoughtful, Committed Citizens”
Unpacking intersectional solidarity
Framing the Global Youth Climate Movement
Digital co-construction of relational values
Great games and keeping it cool
AustraliaOnFire
Young people’s conversations about environmental and sustainability issues in social media
Diverse perspectives on action for positive social and environmental change
Young digital citizenship in #FridaysForFuture
Gender differences in the climate change communication on Twitter
A Multivariate Study of Internet Use and the Digital Divide
See nothing but beauty
Dams and Flows
Tree Is Life
Communication Practices and Political Engagement with Climate Change
Intersectionality
| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 5 |
| Citation span | 2025 - 2026 (2) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 5 |