Climate Change From the User’s Perspective

Scientific information about the global climate and its development is both complex and uncertain. For laypersons, mass media and the Internet constitute the main sources of information about climate change. However, so far, little is known about the impact of mass media and, in particular, of online content about climate change on the audience’s knowledge regarding and attitudes toward climate change. Therefore, a survey with a representative sample of German Internet users (n = 1,523) was conducted. Based on previous research and theoretical considerations, a measurement model was developed that also included the individual variables environmental awareness and perceived involvement. Additionally, the individual’s perspective on media content was taken into account by considering moderator effects of the individual’s evaluation of media content and need for information. In this way, television and radio use was shown to slightly affect the levels of knowledge and problem awareness. The moderators media evaluation and need for information proved to be particularly important for the impact of Internet use. The more media reporting was perceived as exaggerated, the more Internet use negatively affected levels of knowledge, problem awareness, and behavioral intentions. Conversely, the interaction between need for information and Internet use increased the impact on problem awareness and behavioral intentions. Hence, it becomes clear that the Internet plays a crucial role in people’s attitude generation processes, but is utilized in different ways.