Predicting Gen Z Mangrove Conservation Awareness on Instagram: A Community Account Study of Campaign Exposure and Ambassador Credibility in Indonesia

Paundra Hanutama, Sulthan Rafi Abyan Hidayat, Meilannie Louise Hajo, Aditi Jadhav

Abstract


This study measures the role of Instagram as an environmental communication space for Generation Z in Indonesia. Grounded in the frameworks of Environmental Communication and Social Influence Theory, this study positions the variables of community-based digital campaign exposure ("One Man One Mangrove") and youth environmental ambassador credibility as predictors of environmental awareness. A quantitative survey was administered to 96 followers of the Instagram account @mangrovejakarta.id, and the data were analyzed using multiple linear regression. The results show that both exposure to campaign content and perceived ambassador credibility significantly predict environmental awareness (p < 0.05), with ambassadors exerting the strongest standardized relationship (β = 0.704). The two predictors explain 65.4% of the variance in awareness (R² = 0.654), indicating that digitally mediated communication can contribute to the formation of awareness regarding mangrove conservation within this specific follower community. These findings suggest that social media can serve as a potential environmental communication channel for engaging youth audiences in ecosystem-specific issues and may support ongoing efforts to enhance environmental literacy in coastal conservation contexts.

Keywords


Environmental communication; Environmental awareness; Social media persuasion; Mangrove conservation; Generation Z

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DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.24329/aspikom.v11i2.1796

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