From Clicks to Change: How Effective Is Digital Climate Action?

Have you ever posted a #FridaysForFuture update or signed an online petition and wondered, “Is this just slacktivism—or can clicks spark real change?” Let’s dive into the research to find out.

Digital climate action involves hashtags, online petitions, TikTok storytelling, virtual protests, and educational campaigns. These digital tools empower quick mobilisation, storytelling, and global reach, allowing activists to self-organise without traditional structures and restraints.

Research shows that digital media can be a powerful driver of climate action, using social platforms to foster climate awareness, amplify voices, mobilise communities, and inspire sustainable, collective action through visual storytelling, hashtag campaigns, education and online collaboration (Tanveer, 2024).

Digital natives hold a particular power in this area, with knowledge of which platforms and messaging techniques will be most beneficial to spark engagement, connect across borders, and pressure politicians and companies (Pandit et al, 2025).

Digital activism helps to shape public opinion. The more people hear about the truth and see peers, loved ones and influencers taking action, the more accepted and mainstream the issues become, and the more likely they too are to take action for the cause. Public opinion can shift and this eventually shapes political discourse. The Overton Window is a powerful concept for understanding how ideas evolve and how public discourse shapes political action. 


There are undoubtedly issues with digital activism that require further exploration, issues such as keeping supporters interested over time, failure to generate enough community engagement and political interest in certain issues (Calibeo, 2024). Online activism can also be undermined by misinformation or dominated by those with better digital access, excluding marginalised communities and creating significant polarisation in the environmental domain (Moreno-Cabanillas et al, 2024). While challenges such as misinformation and echo chambers persist, research suggests that digital media offers a powerful tool for environmental advocacy, capable of driving meaningful change towards a more sustainable future.

Digital activism isn't just about clicks, it’s about conversion into real-world impact and research shows that it is most effective when digital efforts combine with grassroots action (Vancsó and Kovács-Magosi, 2024) and when creators on TikTok and YouTube weave personal narratives into their climate messages whilst keeping content hopeful and fact-based (Meet the Climate Change Activists of TikTok | WIRED).

Digital activism isn’t just a buzzword! It is a tool that, when wielded creatively, persistently, and with integrity, it can open doors to meaningful change.

 Written by Taylor

Digital Rebellion

If you would like to help drive change for a liveable future by organising digital actions, the Digital Rebellion team would love to hear from you! Email digitalrebelXR@proton.me

References

Calibeo, D. L. (2024) “We became our own media!” : Australian perspectives on the beneficial potentialities of new media for environmental activism. Journal of Environmental Studies and Sciences, 14, 213–223, https://doi.org/10.1007/s13412-023-00885-y

Moreno-Cabanillas, A., Castillero-Ostio, E., &Serna-Ortega, A. (2024). Digital disinformation strategies of European climate change obstructionist think tanks. Front. Commun. 9:1470343. DOI: 10.3389/fcomm.2024.1470343

Overton Window https://www.mackinac.org/OvertonWindow Accessed 14th August 2025

Pandit, M., Magadum, T., Mittal, H., & Kushwaha, O. (2025). Digital Natives, Digital Activists: Youth, Social Media and the Rise of Environmental Sustainability Movements, DOI:10.48550/arXiv.2505.10158

Tanveer, Z. (2024). Leveraging Digital Media for Climate Awareness: The Role of Social Platforms in Environmental Advocacy. Multidisciplinary Journal of Law for Future Security, 1 (1), 1-9.

Vancsó, A., & Kovács-Magosi, O. (2024) The mutually reinforcing power of online and offline activism: The case of the Hungarian Fridays for Future movement. Global Studies of Childhood, 14(4), 412-432, DOI: 10.1177/20436106241286523.  

WIRED https://www.wired.com/story/climate-change-tiktok-science-communication/?utm_source=chatgpt.com Accessed 14^th August 2025