evaluated by McGregor ( 2019 , P . 1073 ). This is demonstrated through the provision of a platform where “ individuals can be heard by political elites and each other ” which is vital to democracy ( McGregor , 2019 , P . 1081 ). Social media platforms “ rose to cultural significance as a phenomenon in 2003 ” and are since popularly utilised to isolate an audience to deliver a campaign message ( Ellison and Boyd , 2013 , P . 2 ). In their 2013 work , Ellison and Boyd examine the significance of profile formation and a strong online presence . Unlike that of a “ pseudonym on an online discussion site ” which exists independently to an offline identity , the development of a profile which represents one ’ s offline identity holds high importance for an activist campaign such as Greenpeace , as publicity relies heavily on a strong social media presence ( Ellison and Boyd , 2013 , P . 4 citing Donath , 1998 : Johnson , 2011 ). Greenpeace communicate through frequent sharing , on average 2-3 posts per day . Studies have highlighted that the key to campaign success is in “ quality and consistency ”, posting enough to be visible on followers feeds without becoming a nuisance ( Myers , 2020 ). When reviewing academia surrounding social media campaigning , the work of Van Aelst et al . ( 2017 ) is of high significance , reflecting upon possible downfalls of utilising such platforms . One of which concerns is for “ increasing polarisation and fragmentation ” of political beliefs , which can be put down to the provision of niche media content due to a greater supply of media across numerous channels . Eventually , polarisation
COMM313 leads to the growth of ‘ filter bubbles ’, in which audiences only encounter media content which reinforces existing beliefs . This is particularly applicable to social media channels , as one ’ s news feed will only reflect existing interests and display accounts which have been actively selected . This theory can be applied when evaluating the existing audience of a social media campaign , raising concerns that the campaign may only reach the “ virtual community ” who have a prior passion for the cause ; thus , limiting the success and reach of the message ( Ellison and Boyd , 2013 , P . 14 citing Rheingold , 1993 ).
Since “ the world is now nearly one degree warmer than it was before widespread industrialisation ”, alongside countless other statistics and news stories which demonstrate the severity of recent climate change ; analysing an environmental campaign has never been more relevant ( BBC News , 2020 citing the World Meteorological Organization ). Instagram , whose popularity now exceeds Twitter in terms of users , is arguably the perfect platform to spread awareness surrounding environmental issues ( Lee et al , 2015 , P . 552 ). There are many factors which contribute to this thesis , the first being the dominance of the young users on the platform . Statistics demonstrate that “ over two thirds of total Instagram audiences are aged 34 years and younger ” ( Statista , 2020 ). For an activist campaign centred around “ defending the natural world ”, Instagram can consequently be utilised to expose the future generation
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COMMUNICATIONS AND MEDIA