Environmental Organizing in the Digital Age.

Abstract

Internet technologies have impacted the form and function of social movement activities such that mainstream environmental organizations (MEO) and environmental justice organizations (EJO) have begun to adopt and use various technologies to achieve organizational goals. Given the critical role of internet technologies on social movement activity, the current project contributes to the literature on social movement activity online through a two part analysis including a mail survey and a web-based content analysis. Specifically, the digital divide is observed among EJOs and MEOs: MEOs demonstrate higher rates of adoption and more frequent use of various technologies as compared to their EJO counterparts. Most notably MEOs adopt organizational websites, use e-mail more frequently, have more technology personnel and engage in general computer use at rates higher than their EJO counterparts. Video cameras are the only technology under analysis that was adopted by EJOs at higher rates than their MEO counterparts. In terms of the purpose of use, both had attempted to solicit donations online but again, MEOs did so with greater success as compared to EJOs. Through the web-based analysis MEOs demonstrated higher complexity of their online presence as compared to EJOs with EJOs being less likely to have an online presence at all. Further, organizations with the most functional sites tended to be MEOs which hosted greater interactivity. Overall, it was clear that MEOs have established greater and more complex online presence compared to EJOs. Further studies might consider questions regarding whether these differences in use translate to higher rates of organizational goal attainment. Additionally, future studies can incorporate analyses of the nuances of mobile Internet access given the substantial growth of this means of access especially among Black and Latino users.