Exploring the connection between sustainable behaviors—Recycle, reuse, and reduce—and digital media framing in climate change Youtube Vodcasts

The effectiveness of digital content in promoting sustainable recycling, reusing, and reducing behaviors is largely unknown. This research used a sequential mixed-method approach to unearth the efficacy of environmental framing in digital content to foster recycling, reusing, and reducing practices that remain minimal. Study 1 analyzed YouTube content over four years, revealing that environmental issues were framed around legislation and climate change to encourage sustainable behavior. Study 2, a series of quasi-experiments with 320 African participants, tested the efficacy of these frames. The results of Study 1 revealed that climate change was the dominant frame used for digital journalistic practice, with 133 vodcasts, followed by environmental legislation with 89 vodcasts. The results of Study 2 suggested that climate change, global warming, and environmental legislation framing can result in enhancing emotional response and environmental knowledge that influence sustainable behavior. Theoretically, these results recognized that the message-consistent effects of digital content frames manifesting climate awareness and scientific evidence made viewers embrace sustainable behaviors.