OVERVIEW

 Research Statement/ Background

 Research Question
 Hypotheses
 Methodology
 Results
 Critiques
 Conclusion and Recommendation
 RESEARCH STATEMENT AND BACKGROUND
Climate change is a major threat facing humanity. Media consumption
impacts on individual behaviour and drives societal change. Therefore,
understanding human interactions with climate change and effective
adaptation of sustainable living, contributes to climate action. This research
systematically investigates the awareness of climate related issues on
individuals through social media channels in 5 different countries
(Afghanistan, Brazil, China, Kenya and Mexico).
RESEARCH QUESTION & HYPOTHESES
RESEARCH QUESTION
How does social media usage influence user’s awareness on climate
change in non-European countries?

HYPOTHESES
News and information on social media have an influence on the awareness
about climate change as a global issue.

The awareness of social media users about climate change varies

according to the usage patterns and the country.
 METHODOLOGY
This study mainly focuses on Quantitative research method in 5 countries. The
primary research method was an online survey through a structured approach. A
series of 10 questions were developed and disseminated through an online
application namely, Survey Monkey.

The questions were reviewed according to their own characteristic and the
feedback received from the sample population. Based on this understanding, a
classification method was developed to categorize the results. The research was
conducted during the month of November 2019 for a period of 4 days.
 SURVEY QUESTIONS
Q1 - On which platform do you see the most information about climate change?
Q2 - On a scale of 1 - 5, how often do you receive information about climate change?
Q3 - How do you receive the most information about climate change?
Q4 - In which format do you consume the most information about climate change?
Q5 - How do you evaluate your awareness on climate change?
Q6 - On a scale of 1-5, how important do you think climate change issues are? 
Q7 - How do you respond to the information you receive about climate change on social media?
Q8 - Have you participated in any initiatives regarding climate change organized through social media?
Q9 - In which of the following ways has social media influenced your lifestyle on issues regarding climate change?
Q10- If applicable, which of the following options have you adopted/considered adopting from the information on social media?

Usage patterns Awareness Action

 RESULTS
5 5 countries

95 participants
95

03 3 key findings
 RESULTS ON HYPOTHESIS 1

News and information on social media have an influence on

the awareness about climate change as a global issue.
Q2. On a scale of 1 – 5, how often do you receive information about
climate change?
Q5. How do you evaluate your awareness on climate change?
HYPOTHESIS 1
(Choose 1)
Q6.On a scale of 1-5, how important do you think climate change Correlation
issues are? Q2-Q5 Q2-Q6 Q2-Q9
coefficients
Q9.In which of the following ways has social media influenced your
China 0.395 0.369 -0.450
lifestyle on issues regarding climate change? (Choose 1)
Brazil 0.643 -0.243 -0.163
Afghanistan 0.156 0.000 -0.253
Result: Kenya 0.608 0.335 -0.079
Social media has an influence on the awareness about Mexico 0.611 0.310 -0.402
climate change as a global issue. The linear relation
General 0.523 0.164 -0.277
between use and awareness is moderate.

In tendency, the more you use social media, the higher the
self evaluation of climate change awareness. However,
this relationship does not lead to a certain perception of
importance (Q6) or certain willingness (Q9) to take
action.
 HYPOTHESIS 2.1

The awareness of social media users about climate change

varies according to the usage patterns.
 RESULTS ON HYPOTHESIS 2.1
The Excel Chisq.Test function can be used to calculate the chi-square test for independence. The formula for this is:
=CHISQ.TEST(actual_range, expected_range )
p-value ≤ 0.05  indicates a significant difference between the observed and the expected frequencies
p-value > 0.05 indicates a not significant difference between the observed and the expected frequencies

User pattern - Sources:

Q3.How do you receive the most information about climate change? (Choose 1)
Q5.How do you evaluate your awareness on climate change? (Choose 1)
P = 0.584>0.05
User pattern - Format:
Q4.In which format do you consume the most information about climate change? (Choose 1)
Q5.How do you evaluate your awareness on climate change? (Choose 1)
P = 0.998>0.05
Result:
There is no statistical correlation between usage pattern of social media
and the awareness on climate change.
 RESULTS ON HYPOTHESIS 2.2

The awareness of social media users about climate change

varies according to the country.
 HYPOTHESIS 2.2
Average Awareness
2,89
2,81 2,8
2,73
2,68

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an

zil

ico
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ny
a
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ex
Br

Ke
C
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M
gh
Af
Q5.How do you evaluate your awareness on climate change? (from 1 to 4)
P = 0.872>0.05
Result:
The awareness on climate change doesn’t vary according to the country.
The participants in these five countries have similar degree of awareness.
 AFGHANISTAN
 Facebook 89%
 Sometimes 79%
 News Organizations 53%
 Videos 58%
 Broad Knowledge 68%
 Very Important topic 63%
 Share Information 58%
 No participation 89%
 Willing to act 58%
 Tree planting & Recycling
58% & 53%
 BRAZIL
 Facebook 37%
 Often 37%
 News Organizations 44%
 Text 44%
 Broad Knowledge 69%
 Very Important topic 75%
 Like/Dislike 50%
 No participation 94%
 Acting 44%
 Recycling & Transportation
88% & 63%
 CHINA
 WeChat 36%
 Sometimes 36%
 News Organizations 73%
 Text 45%
 Broad Knowledge 55%
 Important topic 82%
 Share Information 45%
 No participation 82%
 Willing to act 55%
 Recycling & Transportation
64% & 55%
 KENYA
 Facebook 34%
 Sometimes 32%
 News Organizations 42%
 Videos 63%
 Broad Knowledge 68%
 Very Important topic 78%
 Share Information 47%
 No participation 79%
 Planning to act 47%
 Recycling & Tree planting
79% & 32%
 MEXICO
 Facebook 53%
 Sometimes 37%
 News Organizations 50%
 Videos 45%
 Broad Knowledge 73%
 Very Important topic 73%
 Share Information 50%
 No participation 73%
 Acting 43%
 Recycling & Less Meat
63% & 50%
 CRITIQUES
1. How to measure awareness.
2. Questions should have same scale.
3. Polar opposite answers from respondents. E.g. Kenya survey.
4. With basic account you can not download the data from survey
monkey.
5. Participants need English knowledge to answer questions.
 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATION
• This study measures the influence of social media on climate change awareness among individuals.
Findings revealed that, Facebook had the largest subscription and dissemination of climate change
information. A large majority of the respondents (74.2%) regarded climate change as an important
topic. The findings also suggest that social media influences climate change awareness.

• Government agencies and NGOs involved in climate change could benefit much through adoption
of social media as part of an ongoing campaign for climate action. There is also the need for creation
of specific social media platform to make climate change information easily accessible to people.

• However, this study only represents a small fraction of a large topic and the results do not in any way
depict the true picture on the topic. It is only a small representation taken from a small sample size
therefore, further research on the topic is needed.
 BIBLIOGRAPHY

1. Ogunjinmi, Adekunle & O.R., Sunday & K.O., Ogunjinmi & Adekoya, Oluwatosin. (2016).
INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON CLIMATE CHANGE KNOWLEDGE AND CONCERNS.
Nigerian Journal of Agriculture, Food and Environment. 12. 23-30.

2. Whitmarsh, Lorraine (2019). Perceptions of climate change. Tyndall Centre for Climate Change
Research. https://www.tyndall.ac.uk/ideas-and-insights/perceptions-climate-change retrieved on
November 28, 2019.
 CREDITS
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