Climate Anxiety, Digital Media, and Youth Political Mobilization: A Comparative Analysis of Environmental Activism in Sweden and Australia

Abstract

The intensification of climate change has transformed environmental politics into one of the most significant socio-political and cultural challenges of the twenty-first century. Across contemporary societies, younger generations increasingly experience climate change not merely as an environmental issue but as a psychological, ethical, and political crisis affecting identity, institutional trust, and future social stability. Simultaneously, digital communication platforms have reshaped how environmental activism, political discourse, and collective mobilization emerge within networked public spheres. This article investigates how digital media environments influence climate anxiety and youth political mobilization through a comparative analysis of Sweden and Australia. Although both countries possess advanced democratic institutions and active environmental movements, they demonstrate substantially different political cultures, media narratives, and climate governance trajectories.

            Drawing on comparative political sociology, environmental humanities, digital media studies, and affect theory, this study examines how institutional discourse, media representation, and digital communication systems shape environmental activism among younger generations. The findings demonstrate that climate anxiety functions not only as an individual psychological condition but also as a socially mediated emotional structure connected to political legitimacy, cultural identity, and institutional trust. In Sweden, climate activism is strongly integrated into broader civic participation traditions and sustainability-oriented governance discourse. In Australia, environmental mobilization develops within a more polarized political environment shaped by extractive economic structures, contested climate narratives, and uneven institutional responses.

            This article contributes to social sciences and humanities scholarship by integrating environmental sociology, digital communication analysis, and comparative democratic theory to explain how digital publics mediate relationships between ecological crisis, emotional experience, and political participation. The study further proposes a conceptual framework linking climate discourse, affective mobilization, institutional mediation, and democratic transformation within contemporary digital societies.