Microcelebrity Activismwithin Civil Rights Movements: Explaining the impact of Greta Thunbergon supportive behaviour, risk perception and emotionstowards climate change
Summary
This study examined the impact of microcelebrity GretaThunberg on high school students’ risk perception, supportive behaviour and emotional involvement towardsclimate change. To investigate this impact, a survey experiment was used with two test groups (i.e. text and video) to discover any significant effects of the brand. Participants (N=540) also had to sign a real-life climate petition as behavioural component of the experiment. Results show that students in the video group were significantly more willing to participate in supportive behaviourand more concerned about the risks of climate changethan those in the control group. Student in the video group also had a 57% higher likelihood to sign the petition. This empirical evidence reveals that microcelebrity activismcanmobilise actors, which can helpcivilrights movementstoaddress climate change on the political agendaand to sustain their own presence. In contrast to the literature (Smith& Leiserowitz, 2014; Eshuis & Klijn, 2012) that often assumesthat brands evoke emotions, this study did not find any significanteffects for negative emotions. It is presumed that Thunberg’s brand uses ‘negative’ emotions(e.g. anger)to trigger a cognitive and behavioural response, instead of an emotional response.