Climate Change Awareness among Young Mass Media Users; Jalalabad, Afghanistan

Abstract

‌Climate change is a grave challenge for the current century, affecting the lives of people across the globe, especially in developing countries. The study cites Climate Change Vulnerability Index (CCVI, 2011) to claim that Afghanistan is among the countries most threatened by climate change, due to its demographic, geographic, and climatic factors (Ali, 2011). The research is a quantitative analyze of awareness about climate change among mass media users. The research used a sampling frame of 15,310 individuals. Researchers randomly picked 385 of them from different Universities and colleges in Jalalabad City, Afghanistan. Researcher also looked at a lot of books and articles from around the world and locally, to get the data researchers needed. Researchers asked them to fill out a survey questionnaire. Most respondents (36.36%) agreed that media increases users' knowledge about climate change. Moreover, a large majority (44.68%) of respondents agreed that media coverage on climate change have good impact on public. (36.36%) of respondents were neutral on "Climate change is a severe concern for Afghan youth. Most respondent’s answer they watch and follow TV to receive information about climate change. Media gives us a lot of ways to find out more about climate change and what we can do about it. We can follow TV, Radio, Internet, or Newspapers that talk about this issue and share useful tips and facts. Policy makers can use it to improve how we communicate and educate people about climate change. Policy makers can also use it to motivate people to change their habits and attitudes towards the environment.