Green living and the social media connection: The relationship between different media use types and green lifestyle politics among young adults

Abstract

Today, environmental issues are not only communicated by traditional mass media, but they are also posted, shared and discussed in social media. This raises the question of the extent to which social media use also influences real environmental engagement. Using original survey data collected among young adults in Germany, this study demonstrates that social media use is clearly associated with stronger engagement in green lifestyle politics. Further, regarding different motives and forms of social media use, the findings of the study show that active use of social media for informational purposes predicts green lifestyle politics.