The Internet Generation and their Environmental Concern

This study examines the relationship between internet use and environmental concern of young adults, and in particular the role parents have in shaping this relationship. This study looks at young adults in Poland and in the Netherlands specifically, because of the differences in internet access in these countries and their different family ties. The data used in this study is from the European Social Survey 2016. Statistical analyses, using one-way and two-way ANOVA tests, revealed a positive effect of internet use on environmental concern. Also, a significant three-way interaction between internet use, parental education and the country was found. In the Netherlands, the relationship between time spent on the internet by young adults and their environmental concern, becomes stronger when the level of education of their parents is higher. In Poland this level of education does not have significant effects on the relationship between internet use and environmental concern.