Digital environmental media and its relationship to shaping the Egyptian public’s attitudes towards climate change”

 
 
Throughout decades, humanity has endeavored to harness the environment for its service and to achieve its demands, often disregarding the potential magnitude of the unforeseen consequences of these actions. Given the many changes occurring in the contemporary world—ranging from escalating temperatures and land desertification due to drought to the scarcity of potable water and numerous other climate-related adversities—environmental issues and climate change have emerged as critical concerns. Consequently, nations have been striving to devise remedial solutions to mitigate the impacts of climate change. Furthermore, sustainable development has evolved into a comprehensive and expansive framework aimed at fulfilling the needs of present generations while safeguarding the resources and opportunities available for future generations.
Therefore, this paper aims to explore the role of digital environmental media in shaping public opinion towards climate change issues, given its significance as a crucial source of information dissemination and public opinion formation in the contemporary era. To achieve this objective, an analysis was conducted on several studies and papers published in environmental media to identify their various trends. Additionally, an analytical study was conducted on a sample consisting of 11,612 tweets, relevant to climate issues. Finally, a field study was carried out on a sample of Egyptian youth to ascertain their awareness levels regarding different climate issues and the efforts undertaken by the Egyptian government in this field, comprising 120 respondents.
This is achieved by relying on Cognitive priming theory as a theoretical framework for the current paper and employing both analytical and field survey methodologies. Content analysis is conducted using Machine Learning algorithms based on the Python language, in addition to a questionnaire survey.
The results indicated a significant increase in tweets related to the environment during 2023. Public sentiment towards these tweets was 52% positive, 23.4% negative, and 23.6% neutral.
Regarding the field results, it became evident that the level of trust in climate-related information provided on Twitter was high. Additionally, a statistically significant correlation was found between functional and ritual motives and behavioral orientation when following climate-related tweets, with correlation coefficients being less than (0.05). However, no statistically significant correlation was found between functional and ritual motives and cognitive and behavioral orientation when following climate-related tweets, as correlation coefficients were greater than (0.05).
We recommend raising awareness about environmental issues directly and indirectly through various media templates that help attract audiences to the content, such as utilizing environmental Public Service Announcements (PSAs). The results revealed a disinterest among digital users towards traditional digital content. Additionally, forming partnerships with commercial institutions engaged in the material support of advertisements that serve the environment was suggested within the framework of their corporate social responsibility towards environmental issues.