The Influence of Place Attachment on Pro-Environmental Behaviors: The Moderating Effect of Social Media

Abstract

China is facing tremendous pressure to improve the environment. How to promote pro-environmental behaviors at the individual level is an important research topic. This study examines the relationship between social media usage, place attachment, and pro-environmental behavior based on a survey of 550 Chinese citizens. The results show that: (1) Place attachment and social media usage for environmental information acquisition have positive correlations with pro-environmental behaviors; (2) social media usage for environmental information acquisition moderates the relationship between place attachment and pro-environmental behaviors. Our survey also finds that social media play a more important role than traditional media in influencing pro-environmental behaviors. Our findings indicate that social media is changing the traditional relationship between place attachment and pro-environmental behavior. We should pay more attention to this positive role of social media and encourage citizens' pro-environmental behavior.

A Comparative Study of the Role of Interpersonal Communication, Traditional Media and Social Media in Pro-Environmental Behavior: A China-Based Study

“…The questionnaire contains a 10-question environmental knowledge scale to assess the environmental knowledge level of the respondents. Related measurement items can also be found in another of our studies [67]. The overall scale score is 0-10 and Cronbach's Alpha of this variable was 0.773.…”

“…Considering the particularity of the Chinese social and cultural environment, we adopted the measurement items used by Hong [66] in the Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) in 2003, 2010, and 2015. Related measurement issues can be found in another study we conducted at the same time [67]. The corresponding options in the data file were: never = 0; occasional = 1; often = 2, always = 3.…”

“…The Environmental risk perception scale comes from the CGSS2013 version. Specific measurement issues can be found in Xu and Han's research [67]. This variable ranges from 0-5 by weighted average.…”

“…The main types of social media use include WeChat, Weibo, Douyin, Kuaishou, QQ, BaiduTieba, Zhihu, Douban, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Their measurements of obtaining pro-environmental information mainly include four categories: (1) information about environmental change; (2) various discussions about the environment; (3) how other people and places deal with environmental issues; (4) ways and means to protect the environment [67]. We assigned 1 point to each item and obtained the score of each respondent's environmental related information through traditional media and social media.…”

“…They are gender, age, education (Edu), income, and community participation (CP). Operational measurement of these demographic variables can be referred to in our other study [67].…”