Social Media Platforms and their Digital Carbon Footprints: Analyzing Awareness Level of Social Media Users of Punjab, Pakistan

Abstract

Roha Naeem, Wasey Kareem and Bisma Naeem

As social media usage has been on the rise, there has been a growing concern about its impact on the environment. This research seeks to analyze the level of awareness of the concept of Digital Carbon Footprint among the social media users of Punjab, Pakistan. It will also identify the pro-environment behaviors that can motivate the social media users to reduce their usage of social media. The survey has been conducted using a quantitative approach with a survey research design to achieve the desired goals. The research is part of Theory of Planned Behavior. A simple random sample technique was used to select the sample (n =335) of respondents aged 18-26 years old from the cities of Lahore , Okara, Faisalabad and Rawalpindi .The results reveal that the social media users are not aware of their digital carbon footprint in Punjab. However, it also highlights the pro-environment behavior that can be used to reduce the usage of social media which indirectly reduces the digital Carbon Footprint. The aim of this research is to promote an eco-friendlier digital society by encouraging responsible social media usage and reducing the carbon footprint.

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