The Mobilizing Power of Influencers for Pro-Environmental Behavior Intentions and Political Participation

Dekoninck, Heleen; Schmuck, Desirée

doi:10.1080/17524032.2022.2027801

Cited by 62 publications

(36 citation statements)

References 75 publications

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“…Linking climate communication to local contexts, concentrating on the right channels and communicators, as well as utilising existing partnerships and networks, makes the information more relevant to the local individual. Hinku municipalities have started to utilise networks and influencers in their climate communication, but more could be done to widen their reach and encourage pro-environmental behaviour (see Dekoninck & Schmuck, 2022).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Municipal climate communication as a tool in amplifying local climate action and developing a place brand

Nousiainen

Riekkinen

Meriläinen

2022

Environ. Res. Commun.

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Both climate communication and place branding are familiar concepts, whose potentials have been recognized. Cities have engaged in communication and climate work for several years, yet studies linking municipal climate action and communication are scarce. We conducted targeted interviews and a broader survey of climate workers and communicators of forerunner municipalities in Finland and found gaps between climate action and communication. Synergies could be achieved if the two functioned in synchronicity rather than separate tasks, as words require actions, but full impacts of actions fall short without communication. Municipalities have progressed on both fronts but are hindered by lacking time and human resources. Results revealed several opportunities of climate communication in amplifying local climate action and strengthening municipal brand image, but many remain underexploited. Sufficient resources and stronger legitimacy are still needed for climate matters to be better integrated into everything the municipality does and communicates.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Municipal climate communication as a tool in amplifying local climate action and developing a place brand

Nousiainen

Riekkinen

Meriläinen

2022

Environ. Res. Commun.

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“…On blogs and social media platforms like YouTube or Instagram, influencers voice their opinions about manifold topics such as consumer behavior, health and nutrition, sustainability, social equality, and many others (Suuronen et al 2021). In doing so, they shape the attitudes and behavior of their followers (Dekoninck and Schmuck 2022), who perceive them as important role models (Zimmermann et al 2020).…”

Section: Social Media Influencers As Digital Opinion Leadersmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The availability of social media has made it easier for young people outside the political establishment to build an extensive network of followers and voice their opinions about politics. So-called social media influencers, who can be categorized as digital opinion leaders (De Veirman, Cauberghe, and Hudders 2017) and build a close bond with their followers (Jin 2018), increasingly promote not only products and brands (Casaló, Flavián, and Ibáñez-Sánchez 2020) but also their opinions about political topics such as climate change, racism, or migration (Allgaier 2020; Dekoninck and Schmuck 2022; Riedl et al 2021; Suuronen et al 2021). With audiences of several million followers, influencers’ reach today often far exceeds that of many politicians or traditional media actors (BBC 2020).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Politics – Simply Explained? How Influencers Affect Youth’s Perceived Simplification of Politics, Political Cynicism, and Political Interest

Schmuck

Hirsch

Stević

et al. 2022

The International Journal of Press/Politics

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Social media influencers promote not only products and brands but also their opinions on serious topics like party politics or climate change. These so-called digital opinion leaders may exert a powerful impact on their followers’ political attitudes. Accordingly, we explore new directions to explain how influencers’ communication is related to political outcomes by proposing the concept of perceived simplification of politics (PSP). We argue that PSP may fuel political cynicism but also stimulate youth's interest in politics. We also explore important boundary conditions of these associations. We use data from three studies, a two-wave panel survey of adolescents ( NT2 = 294), a cross-sectional survey of young adults ( N = 632), and a two-wave panel survey of young adults ( NT2 = 496) in Germany between 2019 and 2020. Findings of all three studies show that the frequency of exposure to social media influencers’ content increases PSP. In Studies 1 and 2, PSP is related to higher political cynicism, while in Study 3, this relationship is restricted to influencers’ communication about environmental topics and gender equality. Furthermore, Studies 2 and 3 suggest that PSP also increases political interest—yet this association requires a certain level of parasocial interaction (PSI) with the influencer and is contingent on specific political topics.

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“…According to Stern (2000) , environmentally relevant behaviors can be differentiated in high vs. low impact behaviors and private vs. public sphere behaviors. With regard to the high impact behavior of air traveling, people can decide to privately reduce their behavior in the mobility system and to support certain public policies and regulatory frameworks that shape or change this mobility system ( Steg and Vlek, 2009 ; Dekoninck and Schmuck, 2022 ).…”

Section: Theoretical Backgroundmentioning

confidence: 99%

Give Up Flights? Psychological Predictors of Intentions and Policy Support to Reduce Air Travel

2022

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Concerted, timely action for mitigating climate change is of uttermost importance to keep global warming as close to 1.5°C as possible. Air traffic already plays a strong role in driving climate change and is projected to grow—with only limited technical potential for decarbonizing this means of transport. Therefore, it is desirable to minimize the expansion of air traffic or even facilitate a reduction in affluent countries. Effective policies and behavioral change, especially among frequent flyers, can help to lower greenhouse gas emissions. For both, a positive evaluation and public support is indispensable. This study contributes to understanding air travel behavior and the perception of regulative policies. We examined the role of attitudes, perceived behavioral control, efficacy, global identity, and justice concerns for intentions to avoid flights and aviation-related environmental policy support. We conducted an online survey study with a quota sample of N = 2,530 participants in Germany. The strongest positive predictors of intentions to refrain from flying and policy support were perceived behavioral control to travel without flying, efficacy beliefs that avoiding air travel contributes to climate change mitigation, and intergenerational justice concerns; pro-travel attitude was a negative predictor. Moreover, we tested whether the provision of additional information on climate impact, global and intranational inequalities as well as subsidies (implying intranational inequality) affected the intention to avoid air travel and policy support. We found no effects of the different types of information. Nor did we find an interaction between the type of information provided and global or national identity. Our results highlight the need for a shift within the mobility sector that facilitates attractive and accessible transport alternatives in order to strengthen people’s behavioral control to choose other means than planes and their efficacy perceptions. Moreover, raising awareness of the impacts of climate change on future generations and developing strategies to promote people’s concern for intergenerational justice might motivate people to reduce air travel and thereby contribute to a livable future for new generations.

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The Mobilizing Power of Influencers for Pro-Environmental Behavior Intentions and Political Participation

Cited by 62 publications

References 75 publications

Municipal climate communication as a tool in amplifying local climate action and developing a place brand

Municipal climate communication as a tool in amplifying local climate action and developing a place brand

Politics – Simply Explained? How Influencers Affect Youth’s Perceived Simplification of Politics, Political Cynicism, and Political Interest

Give Up Flights? Psychological Predictors of Intentions and Policy Support to Reduce Air Travel

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