Media Representation of Environmental Issues and Its Influence on Youth Awareness

Global issues like climate change, disappearance of biodiversity, pollution and depletion of resources have become common topics of concern. The media institutions are significant in creating the knowledge of the general population concerning these environmental issues by constructing and communicating the environmental discourse within the conventional and virtual media. The paper dwells on how the media portrays environmental issues and how they influence the youths in their bid to become environmentally conscious and concerned about environmental sustainability. The paper critically analyses the ways in which the perception of the environment amongst the youths can be impacted using the new knowledge of environmental communication, that is, through media framing, agenda-setting, and digital environmental campaigns. The study is theoretically and literature-based in discussing current trends of environmental communication and engagement with the youths. The findings reveal that media exposure is also a major factor in environmental awareness among young people by shaping knowledge, attitudes and perceptions towards environmental hazards. Problems of inaccuracy, dramaticism and fragmentary environmental communication may diminish the effectiveness of environmental communication. The paper argues that the young generation should be informed of environmental awareness by means of responsible environmental journalism and enhanced media literacy. The paper concluded by suggesting a conceptual model of how media representation can affect youth environmental awareness and pro-environmental behavior via the use of agenda setting, framing process and digital engagement.