College of Media and International Culture, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China.
Department of Business Administration, Iqra University, Karachi 75500, Pakistan.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2021 Feb 12;18(4):1805. doi: 10.3390/ijerph18041805.
Climate change poses a huge threat. Social networking sites (SNSs) have become sources of human-environment interactions and shaped the societal perception of climate change and its effect on society. This study, based on the extended parallel process model, aims to examine the effect of exposure to climate change-related information on SNSs on the pro-environmental behaviors of individuals. The study examines the mediation effect of fear of victimization from climate change between the exposure to climate change-related information on SNSs and pro-environmental behaviors, including the moderation effect of attention deficit and decision-making self-efficacy with the help of appropriate instruments. A total sample of 406 reliable questionnaires were collected from students using SNSs in China, and data were analyzed through SPSS and AMOS. Results indicate that the exposure to climate change-related information on SNSs has a direct positive effect on users' pro-environmental behaviors (β = 0.299, < 0.01). Fear of victimization from climate change also mediates the relationship between exposure to climate change-related information on SNSs and pro-environmental behaviors (β = 0.149, SE = 0.029, < 0.01). In addition, attention deficit moderates the relationship of exposure to climate change-related information on SNSs with fear of victimization from climate change (β = -0.090, ≤ 0.01) and pro-environmental behaviors (β = -0.090, ≤ 0.05). Similarly, the relationship between fear of victimization from climate change and pro-environmental behaviors is moderated by decision-making self-efficacy (β = 0.267, ≤ 0.01). The findings offer implications for media organizations and government policy makers, who should post or spread environmental information through the most trustworthy media, with trustworthy sources, in an effective manner, and without exaggerated adverse impacts.
气候变化带来了巨大的威胁。社交网络（SNS）已成为人类与环境相互作用的来源，并塑造了社会对气候变化及其对社会影响的认知。本研究基于扩展平行过程模型，旨在检验 SNS 上接触与气候变化相关的信息对个体环保行为的影响。研究检验了 SNS 上接触与气候变化相关的信息与环保行为之间的恐惧受害的中介作用，以及注意力缺陷和决策自我效能感的调节作用，研究使用了适当的工具。通过 SNS，从中国学生中收集了总共 406 份可靠的问卷，使用 SPSS 和 AMOS 对数据进行了分析。结果表明，SNS 上接触与气候变化相关的信息对用户的环保行为有直接的正向影响（β=0.299，<0.01）。对气候变化的恐惧受害也在 SNS 上接触与气候变化相关的信息与环保行为之间起中介作用（β=0.149，SE=0.029，<0.01）。此外，注意力缺陷调节了 SNS 上接触与气候变化相关的信息与对气候变化的恐惧受害（β=-0.090，≤0.01）和环保行为（β=-0.090，≤0.05）之间的关系。同样，对气候变化的恐惧受害与环保行为之间的关系也受到决策自我效能感的调节（β=0.267，≤0.01）。这些发现为媒体组织和政府决策者提供了启示，他们应该通过最值得信赖的媒体，以可信的来源，有效地发布或传播环境信息，避免夸大不利影响。
