Environmental Sense of Gen Z in Online Communities: Exploring the Roles of Sharing Knowledge and Social Movement on Instagram

Abstract

Although various studies have addressed environmental concerns, few studies use the cohort perspective to address them, mainly Gen Z online communities. The future of the earth is reflected in the awareness, thoughts, and actions of young people towards the environment. This article analyzes interaction, online community formation and examines knowledge sharing and social movement on Instagram among Gen Z in various countries. The online survey results revealed that Gen Z Instagram users (n = 258) interacted online to discuss environmental sustainability, SDGs, and the 'save the earth' campaign as a form of knowledge sharing and social movement. The research sample was taken from social media-based environmental care communities on Instagram with an age range between 19 to 29 years in various countries. The analysis was conducted empirically with descriptive statistics that describe Gen Z's attitudes, actions, and engagement in social movements. Research also shows the environmental sense among Gen Z regarding SDGs issues such as good health and well-being, poverty reduction, environmental sustainability, biodiversity conservation, and plastic litter oceans. Gen Z shows a relatively deep concern for the earth's future because they associate it with themselves and humans' future. Most of Gen Z show deep concern about the negative implications of a development that exploits nature, unbalanced ecosystems, and the human ignorance of environmental sustainability. The implication of this research is to provide recommendations for future research in a multidisciplinary manner, examining the need for Gen Z leadership in building sustainability development from one generation to the next.

Determining factors in shaping the sustainable behavior of the generation Z consumer

“…According to Singh and Dangmei (2016), Generation Z consumers are very concerned about environmental issues, very aware of looming shortages, indicating that they have a high degree of responsibility towards natural resources. Hidayat and Hidayat (2021) mention that the majority of Generation Z shows deep concern about the negative implications of a development which exploits nature, unbalanced ecosystems and human ignorance of environmental sustainability. Generation Z consumers are more willing than older generations to engage in environmental activism, such as volunteering and donating money to environmental causes.…”

“…Moreover, the findings of our study refute to some extent the conclusions obtained by Chen et al (2018) which show us that in Taiwan the degree of awareness of environmental issues has also increased for Generation Z consumers. Also, Hidayat and Hidayat (2021) showed that the majority of Generation Z youths show deep concern about the negative implications of a development that has consequences for environmental sustainability. However, from a theoretical point of view, the studies initiated still do not directly distinguish a correlation between environmental issues and the sustainable behavior of the analyzed generation (Arora and Manchanda, 2022;Djafarova and Foots, 2022), which determines the identification of some sustainable concerns that Generation Z has, and which can constitute the guarantee that young consumers, through their behavior, will positively influence the quality of the environment.…”

Peran Generasi Z Dalam Penguatan Literasi Pengelolaan Sampah Di Kota Malang

“…Berbagai telaah keilmuan maupun pemberitaan media memberi harapan optimis terhadap generasi Z sebagai lapisan masyarakat yang dianggap memiliki kepedulian tinggi terhadap lingkungan. Sebagai digital native, individuindividu pada generasi Z tumbuh dewasa dengan isu-isu global yang beredar melalui internet, salah satunya isu kerusakan dan pencemaran lingkungan (Hidayat & Hidayat, 2021;Mitchell & Topic, 2019). Hal tersebut menjadi salah satu pembeda dibandingkan dengan karakter pada generasi sebelumnya.…”

“…Kepekaan terhadap lingkungan dapat berbeda pada setiap generasi karena adanya perbedaan pengalaman maupun situasi lingkungan (Hidayat & Hidayat, 2021). Maka bagaimana peran generasi Z dalam upaya penyelamatan lingkungan termasuk pada pengelolaan sampah menjadi penting untuk diteliti.…”

“…Apapun aktivitas yang dijalankan maupun interaksi dengan individu lain didominasi dengan konektivitas melalui internet, seperti mempelajari sesuatu via youtube, berteman melalui media sosial, berdiskusi via Twitter. Ekspresi dan aktivitas Gen Z secara bersamaan bersifat offline dan online (Hidayat & Hidayat, 2021). Hal ini juga berlaku bagi Environment Green Society dan Trash Hero Tumapel yang pada praktiknya mengkombinasikan interaksi secara digital dan non digital dalam penguatan literasi pengelolaan sampah.…”