ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM IN SOUTH AFRICA.pdf

This is a research paper on environmental activism in South Africa with a key focus on Johannesburg.

1. ENVIRONMENTAL ACTIVISM IN SOUTH AFRICA: A CASE STUDY OF
JOHANNESBURG

By
Johan Ndzukula
223044080

GR3BFET – Research project

University of Johannesburg
Faculty of Science
Department of Geography, Environmental Management and Energy Studies

Supervisor: Dr. William Mushawemhuka
08 October 2025

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PLAGIARISM DECLARATION

Department of Geography, Environmental Management & Energy Studies

Title of assignment/project : Environmental Activism in South Africa
Initials and surname: JM Ndzukula
Student number: 223033080
Course code (e.g. GGR01A1): GR3BFET
Lecturer: Lara Stockigt
Due date: 08 October 2025

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Abstract

Environmental activism has growth rapidly in the 21
st
century due to the spread of social media.
Social media has transformed environmental activism leading to the evolution of digital
environmental activism. The purpose of this research was to determine whether South African
individuals participate in environmental activism and to investigate the role of social media in
digital environmental activism. This research will only focus on individuals living in
Johannesburg because the city has a high and diverse population in terms of age, gender, race,
socio-economic background, and level of education. Therefore, this diversity creates a suitable
background to investigate environmental activism from various viewpoints. This research used
a survey questionnaire for data collection, and it was distributed through social media to ensure
it reaches a large audience. Through quantitative and qualitative analyse this research revealed
that majority of the respondents do not participate in environmental activism. The respondents
further revealed that social media is the appropriate and effective tool to develop and share
solution and strategies to ongoing issues of climate change and environmental sustainability.
KEYWORDS: Environmental activism; Digital activism; Social media; Climate change;
Environmental sustainability

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Table of contents
List of tables and figures V

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 Background 1
1.3 Problem Statement, aim and objectives 2
1.4 Research design, methods, and ethics 2
1.4.1 Research design 2
1.4.2 Research methods 2
1.4.3 Ethics 2
1.5 Research Outline 3

CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW 4
2.1 Introduction 4
2.2 Activism 4
2.3 Digital activism 5
2.4 Environmental activism 6
2.5 Social media in environmental activism 8
2.6 Representation in social media activism 9
2.7 Perception of social media activism 10
2.8 Future research direction 11
2.9 Conclusion 12

CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY 13
3.1 Introduction 13
3.2 Study site 13
3.3 Sampling Technique 14
3.4 Methods of data collection 14
3.5 Data analysis 15

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3.6 Limitations 15

CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 17
4.1 Introduction 17
4.2 Results 17
4.2.1 Demographics 17
4.2.2 Familiarity with environmental activism 18
4.2.3 Environmental activism participation 19
4.2.4 Digital activism 20
4.2.5 Social media ‘s influence on activism 20
4.3 Discussion of results 22
4.3.1 Demographics 22
4.3.2 Familiarity with environmental activism 22
4.3.3 Participation in Environmental activism 22
4.3.4 Participation in digital activism 23
4.3.5 Role of social media in promoting activism 23
4.4 conclusion 23

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION 25
5.1 Introduction 25
5.2 Key findings 25
5.3 Limitations 25
5.4 Recommendations 26

REFERENCES 27
APPENDIX 30

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List of Table and Figures

Figures
Figure 2.1: Demonstrators marching in Cape Town in demand for justice for Cwecwe 5
Figure 2.2: Picture showing students celebrating after Rhodes statue removal 6
Figure 2.3: Map of African countries by type of commitment at COP21 7
Figure 2.4: Internet usage differences by demography 10
Figure 3.1: Map of Johannesburg showing the seven regions of the city 14
Figure 4.1: Highest level of education of participants 17
Figure 4.2: Participants' familiarity with concepts related to environmental activism 18
Figure 4.3 Participants' level of agreement to statement related to environmental activism
participation 19
Figure 4.4: Percentage of subscribers for various social media platforms 20
Figure 4.5: Participants’ level of agreement with statements related to social media 21
Tables
Table 4.1 Suggestions submitted on how to share solution to climate change on social media 21

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Chapter 1: Introduction
1.1 Introduction
Activism refers to any action or strategy taken by an individual or group of people to bring
about change (Brenman and Sanchez, 2024). Majority of activism is driven by sense of justice
and social responsibility. In recent years we have a rise in environmental activism and social
media usage all over the world. This research will focus on digital environmental activism
through social media in South Africa, with a key focus on Johannesburg.

1.2 Background
Activism has taken a major shift in the 21
st
century with social media being the major driving
force. Activism has moved from the traditional method of in person participation to online
participation. This transformation from traditional activism to social media activism is known
as digital activism. Unlike traditional activism, digital activism does not require physical
presence or in person participation but relies on online protest through social media
(Kretschmer, Njuguna, and Budree, 2023). This promotes self-representation as people can
engage in activism without having to conform to any prescribed groups (Botch, 2017). Digital
activism has also been experienced in South Africa with the #Rhodesmustfall movement being
one of the most memorable social media movements in the country (Sabelo, 2021). The spread
of digital activism has led to the growth of environmental activism. According to the institute
for environmental research and education (2025), environmental activism refers to all the
actions or strategies taken to advocate for environmental sustainability and environmental
protection. Environmental sustainability is a major issue that is being address at a global level
through the United Nations Framework on Convention on Climate Change (UNFFC, 2015).

Climate change is the most relevant topic in terms of environmental sustainability with the
Paris agreement being the most notable policy ever developed to address issues of
environmental sustainability (Bodansky, 2016; Fisher and Nasrin, 2020). According to VU et
al. (2021). majority of social media environmental activism campaigns across the world are
led by NGOs. This does not shy aware from the fact that individuals also partake in
environmental activism with majority being young scholars (Cortés-Ramos et al., 2021).

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Kretschmer, Njuguna, and Budree (2023) justified this representation with links to issues of
illiteracy amongst older generation and digital divide in South Africa.

1.3 Problem statement, aim and objectives.
Past research has revealed that majority of environmental activists tend to focus mostly on
climate change. There is also little environmental activism participation from local people. This
research aims to investigate the perception of environmental activism through social media in
Johannesburg, South Africa. To achieve this aim, the research will examine and address these
two objectives:
• Determine whether Johannesburg residents participate in environmental activism.
• Investigate the role of social media in digital environmental activism.

1.4 Research design, methods, and ethics
1.4.1 Research design
This research focuses on the environmental agency experienced by residents of Johannesburg.
It will highlight the residents’ exposure to social media environmental activism and their
involvement in social media environmental activism.

1.4.2 Research methods
The research will use a non-probability sampling technique, specifically the convenience
technique for data collection. The data is collected through a survey questionnaire that
incorporate both qualitative and quantitative data. This survey will be distributed online with
key target on people residing in Johannesburg. A qualitative and quantitative analysis will be
performed on the collected data mostly using a statistical analysis to produce percentages and
create graphs and charts.

1.4.3 Ethics
The participants will partake in this research voluntary and will have to sign a consent form to
state that they agree to partake in this research. Only individuals above the age of 18 will be

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allowed to take part in the research. The participants’ identity will be anonymous, and their
information will be protected and only be used for the purpose of this research only.

1.5 Research Outline
Chapter 1 has introduced the purpose of the research and provided a background on social
media environmental activism. It has further provided the rationale for the research as current
literature reveals that most locals do not partake in environmental activism. The aim and
objectives driving this research have also been stated.

Chapter 2 is a literature review that highlights key themes that are related to environmental
activism through social media. It synthesizes and discusses current literature on digital
environmental activism from an international perspective and local perspective. This chapter
define digital environmental activism and discusses the representation in environmental
activism between the global South and global north. It further explains the perception of social
media amongst different generations.

Chapter 3 focuses on the research methodology and discusses the method of data collection
and data analysis. It provides a rationally for every method employed in the completion of this
research. This chapter also provides the description of the study area which is Johannesburg
and the sampling method used.

Chapter 4 provide an analysis and interpretation of the collected data to address the two
objectives of the research namely, determining whether Johannesburg residents participate in
environmental activism and investigating the role of social media in digital environmental
activism. This chapter provides visual representation of the data through graphs, tables, and
charts. The chapter further discusses the findings, links them to the literature from chapter 2
and address the gaps in the literature.

Chapter 5 provides the conclusion of the study on environmental activism in South Africa. It
provides a summary of the key findings and the limitations encountered during the study. This
chapter concludes with recommendations for future research on environmental activism.

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Chapter 2. Literature review
2.1 Introduction
Activism has undergone a radical change in the digital age with social media providing a
platform for engaging in sensitive discussions and mobilising people. From the Black Lives
Matters (BLM) movement (Kretschmer, Njuguna, and Budree, 2023) in the USA to the
#Rhodes must fall in South Africa (Botsch, 2017). Social media has changed how people
challenge issue and engage in activism. Some people in the global south perceive social media
as a tool for liberation and resistance while some argue it is a tool for oppression (Sabeelo,
2021). This literature review synthesises existing literature on digital activism with a focus on
youth-led environmental sustainability in South Arica.

2.2 Activism
There is no clear definition of activism as it is broader concept. (Brenman and Sanchez, 2024)
defines activism as an intentional action by an individual or group of people to bring about a
social or political change. Chong and Park (2020) provided multiple definitions of activism
such as a series of contentious performances by which ordinary citizens pursue social change
through collective actions. They also defined activism as collective challenges towards
antagonists. Cortés-Ramos et al. (2021) states activism is mostly triggered by distrust in
traditional institutions such as political leadership. Similarly, Nkrumah (2020) stated that some
social movements are influenced by intersectional inequalities resulting from political
governance.

Brenman and Sanchez (2024) stated that most people partake in activism due to a sense of s
social responsibility and society’s shared desire for social justice. One recent form of activism
that we saw in South Africa was the #Justice for Cwecwe movement which took over social
networks and eventually leading to peaceful marches all over the countries. This march was
fuelled by public unrest following the molestation of a 7-year-old girl named Cwecwe (figure
2.1). The public was protesting that the case be made a priority and the perpetrator to be
arrested, and this aligns with Brenman and Sanchez (2024) initial statement that protests result
from struggles for social justice.

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Figure 2.2: Demonstrators marching in Cape Town in demand of justice for Cwecwe (Daries, 2025)

2.3 Digital Activism
The use of technology and social media has evolved over the years with it eventually fuelling
social movements and activism. Digital activism refers to the online protests that that do not
require any physical presence or in person participation but utilises social media (Kretschmer,
Njuguna, and Budree, 2023). According to Chon and Park (2020), social media is seen as a tool
of mobilising and interaction to stimulate activism. It can make sensitive issues trend through
sharing and reposting of content. Botch (2017) noted that social media allows for people to
engage in movements without having formal membership to any prescribed groups and
promotes self-representation.

In the United States we have seen the impact of digital activism through the Black Lives Matter
(BLM) movement is it was able spread the campaign faster and all gather support from people
all over the world (Kretschmer, Njuguna, and Budree, 2023). In the global South particularly
in Africa we have seen social media being used as a platform for liberation and to challenge
systems of oppression. The #Rhodesmustfall is one of South Africa’s most memorable social
movements which took over social media platforms by storms and was supported all over the
country (Sabelo, 2021). The #Rhodesmustfall later became a foundation for the #feesmustfall
campaign which created unrest all over South Africa, which confirms Chon and Park (2020)
and Kretschmer, Njuguna, and Budree (2023), statement that social media has the power to
mobile and spread information faster. See figure 2.2 below which illustrate the power the
impact of the #Rhodesmustfall.

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Figure 2.3: Picture showing students celebrating after Rhodes statue removal (University of Cape Town,
2015

Botch (2017) argued that social media can also be used as a tool for oppression and to spread
the agenda of extremists through its capacity to control information. Most of social media
activism tend to fade quickly without achieving long lasting impact (Sabeelo, 2021). Similarly,
Vu et al. (2021) also highlighted that most social media user only like/share activism content
without any commitment to affect change. This can be supported by the study conducted by
Cortés-Ramos et al. (2021) where the participant stated that they do not partake in offline
activism because they are not comfortable with sharing political opinion publicly.

2.4 Environmental activism
The institute for environmental research and education (2025), defines environmental activism
as a multifaceted term that refers to diverse actions or strategies that are employed to advocate
for the protection of the environment and promotes environmental sustainability. Most
environmental activists tend to combat climate change through litigation and enforcing
rules/policies that support environmental sustainability (Fisher and Nasrin, 2020). Over the
years we have seen the rise in environmental activism and policies have been developed to
advocate for environmental sustainability. One of the major steps taken to promote
environmental sustainability was the adoption of the United Nations Framework on Climate
change (Nkrumah, 2020).

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Environmental sustainability is a key issue that is being address at an international level and is
being discuss by even head of states and world leaders. The Conference of Parties (COP) is
one major annual gathering attended by almost 200 countries and that is seeks to address issues
of climate change (Bodansky, 2016). The Paris Agreement (COP 21) is one of the most notable
COP policies adopted as it did not only aim at climate change but also emphasised on other
environmental issues such as climate action, sustainable land use, and conserving and restoring
ecosystems (UNFCCC, 2015). The COP encourages government bodies to take actions that
address issues of climate change and often emphasizing on changing consumer behaviour and
shifting to greener/renewable energy (Fisher and Nasrin, 2020; Bodansky, 2016). We have seen
many African countries make a pledge to reduce greenhouse gases at the COP21 (figure 2.3).

Figure 2.4: Map of African countries by type of commitment at COP21 (Balló and Essé Ochou, 2018)

We have seen in recent years the emergence of NGOs advocating for environmental
sustainability in Africa. These NGOs such as Earthlife Africa and African Climate Alliance
take litigation measures as they advocate for environmental sustainability (McConnachie,
2023). The case of Earthlife Africa Johannesburg vs Minister of Energy and others can be seen
as an example of climate litigation in South Africa where environmental justice was achieved
(Van der Bank and Karsten, 2020). In this case Earthlife Africa was against production of
nuclear energy as they argued it does not promote or align with environmental sustainability.

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Environmental activists mostly tend to focus on climate change, and this creates a gap in terms
of addressing majority of other environmental issues such as natural land conservation and
water management (Fisher and Nasrin, 2020. Chon and Park (2020) and Vu et al. (2021) state
that most people do not prioritize environmental cause because they do not resonate with the
issues and are not aware of the extent of the impact of anti-sustainable practices. This
particularly align with Fisher and Nasrin’s (2021) view that people are not concerned with
environmental activism and are therefore not bothered to partake in it.

2.5 Social media in environmental activism
In recent years social media has also been used for environmental activism. According to Van
der Bank and Karsten (2020), the number of participants in environmental activism movements
has increased over the years through social media. NGOs are at the forefront of environmental
activism and mostly use social media to communicate with people all over the world (VU et
al., 2021). In the past we have seen the power of social media in mobilising through the 2018
Friday for future movement. The movement that started by a 15-year-old girl in Sweden was
able to spread all over the world due to social media and eventual mobilise about 7.6 million
people from 185 countries by September 2019 (Svensson and Wahlström, 2023).

The power of social media in promoting environmental activism has been experienced in South
Africa through the #stopshell campaign. This campaign flooded the social networks in a
campaign to derail Shell from continuing with seismic blasts in the coast of South Africa
(Glazewski. and Du Toit, 2022). According to Glazewski and Du Toit (2022), this social media
campaign was followed by a court case file by Sustaining the Wild Coast NPC and
Others against Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy and Others (including shell). This
court case has since stop Shell from continuing with seismic blasts and support the fact that
environmental activism can be carried out through climate litigation measures (Fisher and
Nasrin, 2020; Van der Bank and Karsten, 2020).

Although the use of social media helps NGOs to spread environmental concerns all over the
world, this comes with a list of various limitation. Kretschmer, Njuguna, and Budree (2023)
listed that one key issue with using social media to address environmental concerns is the issue
of misinformation. Vu et al (2021) highlights that most environmental NGOs are situated in

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the global north resulting majority of the global south not partaking in social media
environmental activism due to lack of representation and relevancy of the shared content.
Similarly, Botch (2017) argued that misinformation can spread false information resulting in
different beliefs of the same issue.

2.6 Representation in social media activism
There is uneven representation in social medial in South Africa. According to Vu et al. (2021)
NGOs have a substantial number in terms of representation in social media activism and is
mostly dominated by NGOs from the global north. This resonates with Kretschmer, Njuguna,
and Budree (2023) statement that there is a small number of social media activists locally.
These low numbers do not shy away the fact that social media plays a central role in in
promoting activism in the global south through its capacity to reach multitudes of people Botch
(2017). It has been proven that majority of the people partaking in social media activism in the
global south is mostly scholarly and young people (Cortés-Ramos et al., 2021).

Twitter is the most used social media platform for social media activism as it is the most ideal
platform for most scholar in terms of facilitating discussions, informing people and mobilising
during times of social unrests (Kretschmer, Njuguna, and Budree, 2023; Botch, 2017). Young
people tend to be highly represented in social media activism than the minority of older
generation. Vu et al. (2021) stated that majority of the older generation are sceptical about the
efficacy of social media activism hence they shy away from engaging in it. A study by Chon
and Park (2020) revealed that majority of social media users that partake in activism are
between the age of 19-29 and 30-39 with majority of them being females. They summarised
that most older people are not on social media thus the difference between the representation
of young and old people.

According to Kretschmer, Njuguna, and Budree (2023) the representation with social media
activism can be linked to issues of illiteracy and digital divide. According to Vu et al. (2021)
here is unequal access to network between the global South and global north resulting in global
south having less representation in terms of social media activism (figure 2.4). Botch (2017)
highlighted that South Africa has unequal distribution of resources include access to network
and data which impedes marginalised people from partaking in social media activism due to

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digital divide. This result in digital activism only favouring those who come from well-
resourced society that has access to ICT devices and reliable internet connection (Kretschmer,
Njuguna, and Budree, 2023). A study by Cortés-Ramos et al. (2021) highlighted that online
bulling, issues of privacy, language and illiteracy tend to prevent people from partaking in
social media activism. The represented number of citizens are partaking in social media
activism does not represent the broader view of the population (Botch, 2017).

Figure 2.5: Internet usage differences by demography (Munga, 2022)

2.7 Perception of social media activism
People’s perception of social media activism varies from individual to individual. Cortés-
Ramos et al. (2021) performed a study to determine the perception of the youth in Spain
regarding social media activism and found different result from each. Some perceived social
media as a platform to express their political opinions to their close personal circles than
express them publicly. They perceive social media activism as a plague for online bulling and
spreading unreliable information. Similarly, Kretschmer, Njuguna, and Budree (2023) said that
social media can alter public perception regarding real issue resulting in spread of fall
information.

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Sabeelo (2021) states that most people in the global south perceive social activism as a platform
with the potential to further resistance again oppression. This is in contrast with Botch’s (2017)
study which revealed some people perceive social media as a tool for oppression and spreading
false information. This contrasting perceptions from this group of people further highlights that
social media activism is not perceived the same all around the world. Evidence suggests that
some political leaders in Africa perceive social media activism as a threat to their influence and
power. Sabeelo (2021) highlights that some countries such a Madagascar, Tanzania and Uganda
have placed restrictions or rules that regulate the social media and justifies these actions as
necessary for keeping public peace.

The study by Cortés-Ramos et al. (2021) found that most people view social media activism
as good for public engagement but lack the offline action/effort which is required to make a
long-lasting positive change. The youth perceive social media activism as liberal and impactful
while the older generation tend to view social media activism as sceptical (Chon and Park,
2020; Kretschmer, Njuguna, and Budree 2023). According to Kretschmer, Njuguna, and
Budree (2023), South Africa has high inequality in terms of social and economic status hence
social media activism favours those at the top of the hierarchy or with access to resources. As
long the digital divide remains unresolved there is going to still be persistence of unequal
representation in terms of people who partake in social media activism.

2.8 Future research direction
Most of the current existing studies and research on environmental activism focuses on climate
change activism. This implies that there is a need for research and studies into other
environmental issues such as natural land conservation, water management, and light pollution
just to name a few. There is also little to no research/studies done on historical climate ligation
cases, so researchers need to do more research concerning litigation as a form of environmental
activism. Some of the articles mentioned above touch on the influence of activism on policy
making and therefore future research should delve into the influence of environmental activism
on formulation on constitutional acts/laws related to environmental health and sustainability.

There must be further research done on efficacy of environmental activism and the extend of
its impact on environmental health. Scholars need to put more emphasis on research that

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exposes the possible negative effect that would result from conducting anti-sustainable
practices. People must be educated of the important of environmental sustainability and just
consumption to help them understand the importance of environmental sustainability on our
everyday lives.

2.9 Conclusion
Inconclusion, Digital activism is most used to foster public engagement and mobilise people
in times of social movements. NGOs and other environmental activists have taken over social
media platforms as the push the agenda of environmental sustainability. Some of these social
media environmental activism campaigns result in climate litigation and prevention of
implementation of economic projection that do not align with environmental sustainability.
Research studies have revealed that there is a digital divide in South Africa in terms of access
to network and data which hinders some people not to partake in social media activism. This
hence result in most of the people engaging in social media activism being those from
favourable economic and social background with majority of them being the youth.

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Chapter 3: Methodology
3.1 Introduction
This study aimed to investigate perception of environmental activism through social media in
Johannesburg South Africa. The study collected data through a survey questionnaire that was
distributed online. The survey collected quantitative and qualitative data through a mixture of
multiple choice, tables, yes or no questions and open-ended questions. The collected data was
then analysed to create graphs and tables.

3.2 Study site
This research on environmental activism was conducted in Johannesburg to determine
residents’ participation and the role of social media in digital environmental activism.
Johannesburg is selected because it has one of the largest populations of young in the country.
The population of Johannesburg is remarkably diverse in terms of age, gender, race, socio-
economic background, and level of education, which provides a suitable background to
investigate environmental activism from various viewpoints (Statistics South Africa, 2024).
This diverse population is due to migration for education and employment as the city is known
for its high education and employment opportunities. Johannesburg is located in the province
of Gauteng in the interior of South Africa. Johannesburg has one municipality which is the City
of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality, and it covers an area about 1 643km² with a
population of approximately 4.8 million people (Statistics South Africa, 2024). This population
is spread across seven administrative regions (figure 3.1).

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Figure 3.6: Map of Johannesburg showing the seven regions of the city (Coj, 2020)

3.3 Sampling Technique
According to Berndt (2020), sampling refers to a process of selecting a subgroup from a
population to engage with in research about the entire population. This research used a non-
probability sampling technique, specifically the convenience for data collection through a
questionnaire. This allowed for allowed for a large population to participate based on their
availability and access to the research (Berndt, 2020). This sampling technique was selected
due to time constraint. With consideration to limited time, the questionnaire was distributed
online/social media with key target population. The target population includes individuals
above the age of 18 and are permanent resident of the country.

3.4 Methods of data collection
A survey questionnaire was used in this study to collect both qualitative and quantitative data.
According to Ponto (2015), a survey questionnaire refers to the collection of information
through asking sampled individuals questions. A questionnaire is a research tool that collect
data to address the objective of the study (Pattern, 2016). The research used survey

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questionnaire due to its ability to blend qualitative and quantitative approaches. This survey
questionnaire was distributed in the form of a google form that incorporated closed-ended
question/variables such as gender and open-handed questions such as ‘how can social media
be used to provide solution to climate change?’

The survey was distributed as a google form because google forms allows for integration of
tables and multiple choice for the quantitative data and integration of open-ended long
questions for the qualitative data. The survey questionnaire was distributed online through
social media which aligns with the theme of social media activism. It was completed through
self-administering by participants which allows them to take it at they own convenience. The
researcher was not there to clarify how questions must be answered and thus results may be
unreliable.

3.5 Data analysis
Once the data was collected, a qualitative and quantitative analysis was performed on the data.
The responses collected from the google form were linked to an excel speadsheet for better
analysis. Statistical analysis was mostly used for descriptive statistic and inferential statistics
to provide percentages. Descriptive statistics was used to analyse results for questions that were
using the Likert scale of agreement to determine an average response. Qualitative data from
open-ended questions was converted into tables so that thematic analysis can be performed to
determine similar key words from responses. For example, a table was created to hights key
strategies from respondents on how social media can be used to find solutions for climate
change (Table 4.1). Quantitative data that was gathered using quantitative variables such as
level of education, social media platforms respondents subscribe to, were used to create graphs.

3.6 Limitations
The major issue faced during this study on environmental activism was time constrain. The
was not enough time to collect responses thus there are less respondents who participated in
the survey. The time constrain also influenced the data collection method hence no interviews
were conducted during the study but only online surveys. This excluded the part of the

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population that do not have digital devices or internet connection. This could have been avoided
through distribution of hard copy questionnaire if time there was time.

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Chapter 4: Results and discussion
4.1 Introduction
This chapter reports on the key findings of the data collected through the survey’s google form
questionnaire. The analysis of the responses from the questionnaire provides insightful
information to explore the perceptions of environmental activism through social media in South
Africa. The analysis will mostly focus on specific results that addresses the research objectives.
The main findings from the analyses will be discusses in relation to the literature evaluated in
chapter 2.

4.2 Results
4.2.1 Demographics
A total of 30 participants completed this survey. In terms of gender, 77% identified as male and
23% identified as females which overall shows a higher participation from males than females.
The demography on age showed that 93% of the participants are between the age of 18-24
years while the remaining 7% are between the age of 25-34. In terms of education levels,
10,34% of respondents completed secondary school, 19.63% have completed tertiary education
(undergraduate degree) and 1,3% have completed postgraduate (figure4.1)

Figure 4.1: Highest level of education of participants

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4.2.2 Familiarity with environmental activism
Participants’ familiarity with environmental activism was determined by analysing whether
participants have heard of environmental activism and then analysed their level of agreement
and familiarity with concepts associated with environmental activism. Only 53% of
participants agreed that they have heard of environmental activism while 47% have not heard
of environmental activism. In term of familiarity with concepts related to environmental
activism will only focus on three concepts from the ones in the questionnaire (Figure 4.2). In
the first concept of ‘green activism,’ 43,4% of respondents indicated they were not at all
familiarity with green activism, 16,7% were slightly familiar, 23,3% were moderately familiar,
13,3% were very familiar and 3,3% were extremely familiar with the concept of green activism.

The second concept was ‘environmental citizenship’ where 33,3% of respondents were not at
all familiar the concept, 36,7% were slightly familiar with the concept, 16,7% were moderately
familiar with the concept and 13,3% were very familiar with the concept. The last concept I
will analyse was ‘climate change activism’ where 20% of respondents were not at all familiar
the concept, 6,7% were slightly familiar with the concept, 36,7% were moderately familiar
with the concept, 26,6% were familiar with the concept and 10% were extremely familiar with
the concept.

Figure 4.2: Participants' familiarity with concepts related to environmental activism.

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4.2.3 Environmental activism participation
Participants were investigated on whether they participate in environmental activism through
a variety of questions in Section 2 of the survey. 20% of the participants selected ‘yes’ and 80%
selected ‘no’ when asked if they have participated in any activist event in person. 33,6% of the
respondents who selected yes in the previous question stated that the event they participated in
was linked to the environment and 66,75% of the respondents stated that it was not linked to
the environment. Three statements investigated respondents’ attitude towards participating in
environmental activism (Figure 4.3). On the first statement, ‘It is my responsibility to
encourage others to be environmentally conscientious,’ 30% disagreed or strongly disagreed,
26,7% were neutral and 43,3% agreed or strongly agreed. The second statement, ‘I believe that
environmental activism is important in South Africa,’ 20% disagreed or strongly disagreed,
20% were neutral and 60% agreed or strongly agreed. The final statement, ‘I have a
responsibility to be environmentally conscientious of my daily activities (consumption
patterns, behaviours, conversations. etc.),’ 13,3% disagreed or strongly disagree, 20% were
neutral and 66,7% agreed or strongly agreed.

Figure 4.3 Participants' level of agreement to statement related to environmental activism.

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4.2.4 Digital activism
Participants were investigated on whether they engage in digital activism through a variety of
questions. The first question used to determine if participants partake in digital activism,
investigated the social media platforms that participants subscribe to (Figure 4.4). 70% of
participants subscribe to Facebook, 86% of participant subscribe Instagram, 70% subscribe to
TikTok, 36% subscribe to X (Twitter), 93,3% subscribe to WhatsApp and 76,7% subscribe to
YouTube. Regarding having engaged with any form digital activism in the past, 33,3% of
participants said yes and 66,7 said no.

Figure 4.4: Percentage of subscribers for various social media platforms

4.2.5 Social media ‘s influence on activism
Section 2 had a variety of questions that investigated the role of social media in activism. Five
statements were used to investigate social media as a tool for activism (Figure 4.5). In response
to the statement, ‘I believe social media is an effective tool for making change,’ 10% of
participants strongly disagreed, 3,3% were neutral and 86,7% agreed or strongly agreed. For
the second statement, ‘I think that activism is expressed through digital platforms like social
media,’ 13% of participants disagreed or strongly disagreed, 16,7% were neutral and 70%
agreed or strongly agreed. The third statement, ‘I think that environmental activism is practiced
through digital platforms like social media’ had 26,7% participants who disagreed or strongly
disagree, 23,3% who were neutral and 50% who agreed or strongly agreed.

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Figure 4.5: Participants’ level of agreement with statements related to social media.

Majority of the participants (90%) agreed that social media can be used as a tool for sharing
solutions/adaptive techniques/ helpful responses towards climate change. The last open-handed
question of the questionnaire asked participants to respond on how they think social media can
be used to share these strategies. Majority of the responses included were based on creating
public post and sharing other people ‘posts (Table 4.1)

Table 4.1 Suggestions submitted on how to share solution to climate change on social media.
Some suggestions provided by respondents on how social media can be used to share
solution for climate change
Social media allows people to share ideas, tips, and stories quickly and with a wide audience.
It can connect communities, experts, and activists to spread practical solutions like saving
water, using renewable energy, or planting trees. It also helps rai
Yes, because it is an interactive environment which people share different points of
knowledge and can share opinions while drawing a large audience to the topic with haste
People spend most of their time in social media so it will be wise for sharing of solutions
towards climate change
10 10
16,7
3,3
13,4
3,3
10
3,3
23,3
3,3
16,7
23,3
6,7
23,3
40
30 30
46,7
20
46,7
40
20
40
20
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
40
45
50
I believe social
media is an
effective tool for
making change
I think that activism
is expressed
through digital
platforms like social
media]
I think that
environmental
activism is
practiced through
digital platforms like
social media]
Social media is an
appropriate
platform for raising
climate change
awareness
I think that climate
change is a topic
frequently
discussed on social
media platforms
Percentage
Statements
Level of agreement with statements
Stringly disagreeDisagreeNeutralAgree Strongly agree

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By creating posts where people can share strategies that they think can be used to reduce
effects of climate change
Social media is more popular now than most the traditional ways of sharing information.
By creating and post and making it public for everyone to see

4.3 Discussion of results
4.3.1 Demographics
Out of the 30 people who participated in this survey, 93% of them were between the age of 18-
24 and 97% them of have undergone tertiary education (Figure 4.1). This statistic supports
Cortés-Ramos et al., (2021) study which stated majority of people partaking in social media
activism in the global South are young scholars. This may be because majority of older people
do not subscribe to social media.

4.3.2 Familiarity with environmental activism
Ony 57% of the participants were familiar with environmental activism while the remaining
47% did not know what environmental activism before this survey was. This implies that
environmental activism is not a well spoken about concept in South Africa. This is consistent
with the view by Vu et. al. (2021) that is it mostly NGOs from the global north that are
promoting environmental activism. Participants did not seem to be familiar with other concepts
such as environmental citizenship, green washing and green activism but seemed to be very or
extremely familiar with climate change activism and sustainable development (Figure 4.2).
This implies that climate change and sustainable development are relevant topics of discussion
in South Africa. These statistics support Fisher and Nasrin (2020) study which highlighted that
climate change and sustainable development are the most discussed topics under
environmentalism,

4.3.3 Participation in Environmental activism
Only 20% of the participants have engaged in any form of activist event while 80% have never
engaged in any activism. From those who have engaged in an activist event only 33% of the
events were linked to environment. This implies that most resident of Johannesburg do not
engage in activism event and whenever they did, they were less likely to align with the

29. 23

environment. Brenman and Sanchez (2024) also stated the same result that people do not
partake in environmentally related activism but partake in protests and marches for social
justice. This study revealed that 60% of respondents do not believe environmental activism is
relevant in South Africa and 43,3 % disagree or strongly disagree that it is their responsibility
to encourage other to be environmentally conscientious. This reaffirms the views of Chon and
Park (2020) and Vu et al. (2021) that people do not partake in environmental activism because
they do not resonate with the environmentalism and are not aware of the extent of unsustainable
environmental practices.

4.3.4 Participation in digital activism
WhatsApp with 93,3% has the highest percentage of subscribers while X (Twitter) with 36,5%
has the least subscribers. These statistics contradict Kretschmer, Njuguna, and Budree, (2023)
and Botch, (2017) study results which states that X (Twitter) is the most used platform for
facilitating discussions, informing people. The results of this study being different from the
ones from the previous literature is influenced by the different study site.

4.3.5 Role of social media in promoting activism.
86,7% of the respondents believe that social media is an effective tool to make a change and
50% of the respondents think that environmental activism is expressed through social media.
These statistics proves that majority of respondents agree that social media promotes
environmental activism and this was also stated by Van der Bank and Karsten (2020). 90% of
the participants said that social media can be used to develop and share solutions to
environmental issues through sharing of posts. Chon and Park (2020) support these statistics
as they argued that social media can make issues trend through sharing and reposting of content.

4.4 Conclusion
Majority of the respondents are aged between 18-24 and have completed tertiary education.
The results show that only a few of the respondents are familiar with environmental activism
and therefor do not engage in it. Majority of the respondents revealed that they subscribe to
social media platforms, and they believe that social media is an effective tool to increase

30. 24

participation in environmental activism. They believe that environmental related issues should
be posted and shared on social media so that solutions can be developed/shared.

31. 25

Chapter 5: Conclusion
5.1 Introduction
Environmental activism has been experiencing exponential growth in the 21
st
century through
the evolution of social media (Van der Bank & Karsten, 2020), Therefore, this research aimed
to investigate the perception of environmental activism through social media in South Africa.
This has been achieved through two objectives: determining whether Johannesburg residents
participate in environmental activism and investigating the role of social media in digital
environmental activism.

5.2 Key findings
The research has identified that majority South African individuals are not familiar with
environmental activism nor partake in it. It has further revealed that out of the minority that
engage in environmental activism, most are young scholars. The respondents also revealed that
they are not familiar with other concepts related to environmental activism such as green
washing, green activism, and environmental citizenship. Majority of respondents further stated
that environmental activism is not relevant in South Africa. In terms of social media
participation, the research revealed that majority of South Africans prescribed to WhatsApp.
The research identified that majority of the respondents believe social media is an effective
tool to promote environmental activism. Additionally, the respondents stated that social media
allows for sharing of content and can help develop/share solutions to climate change and
environmental unsustainability.

5.3 Limitations
The major issue faced while conducting the research was time constrain. The was not enough
time provided to complete the research which resulted in only a small number of responses
being collected. The data was only collected through an online survey which excluded people
without internet connection as there is a huge digital divide in South Africa. Additionally, there
was not enough information or past literature on the study site in relation to the research topic.

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5.4 Recommendations
Future research on exploration of environmental activism through social media specifically in
South Africa, should consider studying a large area or province because a city does not
represent the view of the whole country. Researcher must use multiple data collection methods
such as interviews and hard copy surveys to ensure that all people participate in the research
regardless of digital divide. Future research on environmental activism should focus on other
topic related to environmental sustainability other than just focusing on climate change.

33. 27

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Appendix- The survey questionnaire

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