TITLE:
Pro-Environmental Civic Participation in the USA: The Effects of Social Media, Pro-Environmental Lifestyle and Climate Experiences
AUTHORS:
Rita Mano
KEYWORDS:
Pro-Environmental Behavior, Socio-Economic, Digital Information, Digital Networks, Private Expressions, Public Expressions, Climate Changes, USA
JOURNAL NAME:
American Journal of Climate Change,
Vol.13 No.1,
March
29,
2024
ABSTRACT: This study addresses the link between social media use and pro-environmental civic participation considering the moderating effect of social media affordances (public realm) on one hand, and lifestyle behaviors and climate change experiences (personal realm) on the other. We combine communication theory and behavioral models and using a sample of USA individuals (N = 7225) based on the American Trends Panel to predict variations in pro-environmental behavior. We show that social networks rather than information are more effective in predicting pro-environmental behavior. Moreover, a pro-environmental lifestyle as well as climate change experiences at the community level increase the likelihood for pro-environmental participation. However, affordances related to socioeconomic variations generate variations to pro-environmental civic participation. We conclude that in order to capture the depth of pro-environmental civic participation, it is necessary to theoretically and empirically bridge between private and public expressions of pro-environmental awareness.