The last few years have seen the development of a new line of research around the relationship between digital platforms and activism. The influence of the internet and social media on the civic and political engagement of young people in particular has become clear. Digital platforms perform in this regard a set of functions crucial to activism in terms of communication, mobilization, and logistics. These are indispensable tools, especially to young people belonging to informal structures. Digital platforms have also been shown to facilitate emotional and solidarity networks thus fostering a sense of community and a strengthening of collective identities. In this article we aim at examining this aspect based on in-depth interviews with young activists conducted in Portugal during a three-year project (2020–2022). We have concluded that, especially in certain activism contexts involving social groups of neglected or non-normative identities, digital platforms function as a crucial empowerment tool. These are linked to the emotional support for and recognition of the identities of these young people, incentivizing the creation of fields of political and social intervention.

中文翻译：

---

通过互联网提高知名度、团结和赋权：葡萄牙年轻活动家的案例研究

在过去的几年里，围绕数字平台与行动主义之间的关系，出现了新的研究方向。互联网和社交媒体对年轻人的公民和政治参与的影响尤其明显。在这方面，数字平台在通信、动员和后勤方面执行一系列对行动主义至关重要的功能。这些是不可或缺的工具，特别是对于属于非正式结构的年轻人而言。数字平台也被证明可以促进情感和团结网络，从而培养社区意识并加强集体认同。在这篇文章中，我们旨在根据在三年期项目（2020-2022 年）期间在葡萄牙对年轻活动家进行的深入访谈来研究这一方面。我们得出的结论是，特别是在涉及被忽视或非规范身份的社会群体的某些激进主义背景下，数字平台是一种重要的赋权工具。这些都与对这些年轻人身份的情感支持和认可有关，从而激励创建政治和社会干预领域。