Social media has changed our lives for good. Things are not how they used to be before its emergence. It has impacted us in multiple ways, including the communication of news and social awareness. With global warming on the rise, people are using these platforms to share their views and raise their voices for environmental protection.
Whether it is about the melting arctic ice or an increase in global temperatures, users are becoming more vocal than ever before to raise these issues. They are not afraid to share their frustrations against the government and the world at large.
But, the question remains; is social media helping create environmental awareness, and if so, how?
1. Social Media Spreads News like Fire
Social media consists of many different platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, Twitter, and YouTube.
Since close to half of the global population uses it, anything shared on it has the potential to go viral. This means that important issues can be shared by the masses to raise awareness.
People are more than likely to come across content about environmental awareness, especially when browsing through the explore page on Instagram or YouTube. This helps raise awareness with minimal effort.
2. Eco-Friendly Organizations Share Content
Many eco-friendly organizations are utilizing the power of social media to make a profit and raise awareness.
One of the organizations that have done an amazing job in realizing the potential of these platforms is Boxed Water. It shares unique content that promotes environmental awareness and its products at the same time.
If you check out their Instagram, you will see just how amazing of a job they are doing. As businesses have a responsibility to care for the environment, many businesses are turning to the socials to play their part.
This is helping shake things up since other companies are also following the trends and are investing in creating environmental awareness, which is beneficial for the environment.
3. Unique Hashtags are being used
To promote environmental awareness, many social media users are using unique hashtags.
As these hashtags go viral and feature in the top trends, users get to raise much-needed awareness for tackling all types of environmental issues such as burning waste and throwing rubbish into the sea.
By adding a unique hashtag about environmental awareness, users get to come together to shed light on important issues. Since people can follow hashtags on Instagram, it has made it a lot easier to spread environmental messages.
With everyone coming together and sharing their part of the story and how they are trying to make the world a better place, more and more people feel motivated to try out new ways to make a difference. Geo-location hashtags are also being used to raise awareness and share stories.
A notable example includes images of the California drought in 2015, which users in geographic proximity shared on social media. The hashtags California Drought and Drought Shaming were used for establishing divest and climate impact movements.
4. Independent Activists are utilizing Social Media
Social media has provided independent activists with a platform to share their stories and contribute to raising environmental awareness.
For example, residents of the Gulf Coast used Twitter and Facebook during the oil spill in the deepwater horizon to voice their opinions. Social media provided them with the platform to share with others what they experienced.
This made it obvious that social media can act as a news resource, and communities can use it to highlight important issues.
As people are now relying on their social media feeds for gathering information, it makes for an alternative vocalization platform that can be both positive and negative depending on whether the information has been verified or not.
5. Social Media is being used as a Pressure Point
Individuals can also use social media as a pressure point for promoting and encouraging support for important campaigns. Greenpeace uses social media platforms, including YouTube videos, to target Shell Oil operating at the Arctic Circle. This helped influence Shell’s partners indirectly, ultimately leading to sanctions on their operations.
By applying public pressure, people and organizations can achieve the desired environmental changes and create an environmental movement. It is an extremely effective way to create environmental awareness using social media.
6. Social Media is being utilized to Raise Donations
Social media is also being used to raise donations to make the environment better.
An organization that is encouraging others to donate towards planting trees and reducing carbon emissions that you need to know about is Team Trees. It has effectively used social media to generate funds for fighting climate change.
The old model for raising donations has become obsolete. This is why people and organizations are utilizing social media to generate funds for making the world a better place to live in.
The best thing about social media is that there is no barrier for someone who wants to make a difference.
7. Environmental Journalism is happening through Travelling
Ever since social media was first introduced, people have started to travel more. Tourism marketing has benefitted significantly from it. However, people have leveraged social media during their travels to highlight environmental concerns.
As the world is becoming smaller and smaller as we travel more, we have finally realized that we are all connected. This has led to travelers posting images of their travels to raise environmental awareness and even fight for the rights of those around them for a healthier and cleaner environment.
8. Volunteering opportunities are more visible
Anyone interested in volunteering to help save the environment can look up volunteering opportunities. There are various organizations such as Lilo that allow environmentalists to work on different projects for dealing with environmental issues.
9. Marketing is being used for a good cause
Eco-friendly companies are using digital media to send a positive message and differentiate their services from others. These companies are using social media to raise environmental awareness and are working to counter practice that fails to meet environmental regulations.
The Power of Social Media to Create Environmental Awareness
Social media provides everyone with the power to raise environmental awareness. It is used by some of the biggest organizations, such as Greenpeace, to share the latest news about the environment and encourage others to play an active role in bringing about a change.
It all begins with starting a real conversation with others, and social media is helping fuel a conversation for change.
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