Abstract
Beginning in 2018, youth across the globe participated in protest activities aimed at encouraging government action on climate change. This activism was initiated and led by Swedish teenager, Greta Thunberg. Like other contemporary movements, the School Strike 4 Climate used social media. For this article, we use Twitter trace data to examine the global dynamics of the student strike on March 15, 2019. We offer a nuanced analysis of 993 tweets, employing a combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis. Like other movements, the primary function of these tweets was to share information, but we highlight a unique type of information shared in these tweets—documentation of local events across the globe. We also examine opinions shared about youth, the tactic (protest/strike), and climate change, as well as the assignment of blame on government and other institutions for their inaction and compliance in the climate crisis. This global climate strike reflects a trend in international protest events, which are connected through social media and other digital media tools. More broadly, it allows us to rethink how social media platforms are transforming political engagement by offering actors—especially the younger generation—agency through the ability to voice their concerns to a global audience.
Highlights
On March 15, 2019, approximately 1.4 million protesters worldwide joined the youth strike for climate change (Barclay & Amaria, 2019)
The global climate strike was founded by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg as a protest led by youth and younger generations to oppose past and current actions of older generations towards the environment
The strike continued into 2020; more youth protesters are taking to the streets in order to challenge governments and the media about the climate crisis
Summary
On March 15, 2019, approximately 1.4 million protesters worldwide joined the youth strike for climate change (Barclay & Amaria, 2019). The global climate strike was founded by Swedish teenager Greta Thunberg as a protest led by youth and younger generations to oppose past and current actions of older generations towards the environment. Students went on strike and walked out of schools across the globe in order to draw attention to and encourage action on climate change. The strike continued into 2020; more youth protesters are taking to the streets in order to challenge governments and the media about the climate crisis. These protest initiatives followed similar grassroots-intensive blueprint used by other protest movements in recent years. We examine the spatial markings of the tweets (local, national, global), which demonstrated a pattern of connecting local action
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