"The Role of Social Media in Developing Environmental Awareness among Middle School Students" "Field study"

Abstract

This study aims to explore the role of social media in raising public awareness about environmental issues. It also seeks to identify the main reasons behind the audience’s interest in environmental topics, as well as to determine the most pressing environmental problems that attract the attention of the target audience on social media platforms. The research employed a descriptive methodology and was conducted on a sample of 150 male and female high school students in Karbala Governorate. The findings revealed that the sample showed significant interest in following environmental campaigns on social media, which indicates a positive trend in enhancing environmental awareness among the target audience. Moreover, the study confirmed that social media plays a major and effective role in educating the public about environmental awareness. Environmental pollution emerged as the leading topic of concern among the sample on social media platforms. Furthermore, the desire for learning and gaining knowledge was found to be the primary motivation for the audience’s engagement with environmental topics on these platforms.