Climate change and digital communication: teens’ preferences

Human perception is strongly influenced by communication. In the context of natural hazards, perception plays a crucial role in the resilience of affected populations. This is particularly true for people's perceptions of phenomena related to climate change (CC). Given this, it is essential to effectively calibrate communication, especially digital communication, which has significantly transformed how information is shared. Moreover, digital communication is the primary channel for younger generations, often labeled “digital natives.” However, the preferences of young people regarding digital communication tools have not been sufficiently explored.

In this study, in the framework of the Italian NRRP Tech4You Project, we examine the digital communication tools preferred by students from an Italian scientific high school. A questionnaire was administered to 74 students, asking them to select from various digital communication tools related to CC topics. Additionally, an open-ended question encouraged the students to explain their choices briefly. The communication preferences were analyzed via SPSS statistical software, whereas the comments were analyzed via the qualitative data analysis software AtlasTi.

The results highlight a preference for communication that is concise, simple, and similar to the content young people usually engage in. With respect to the proposed content, videos and images are preferred over explicating texts. These findings, which shed light on students' preferences for internet digital tools related to CC, offer valuable insights for better calibrating digital communication in the field of climate change adaptation (CCA), which involves young citizens.

This study provides a good basis for enhancing young people's access to information through digital communication, which could significantly improve their social resilience to CC-related events. This improvement is crucial, as the information of today's youth contributes to building more resilient adult citizens in the future.