Social Network Sites as Area for Students’ Pro-environmental Activities

AbstractApart from school education, students’ value orientation and behavior is also affected by informal and non-formal education. Therefore, if we examine the effects of informal and non-formal education on the development of pro-environmental interests of students for instance, then we must include new media as learning spaces and spaces for demonstration of environmental action. In this sense social networks become indispensable as virtual spaces for demonstration of environmental interests, which can contribute to pro-environmental activities, or foresight patterns of pro-environmental behavior. The aim of this research, whose results are presented and analyzed, refers to the comparison of indicators of environmental activities of students in Split related to their involvement in the activities of green NGOs, procurement of literature on environmental issues and on demonstrating interest in environmental issues on social networks, including Facebook. This research was conducted by survey method on a representative sample of college students from six faculties at University of Split (N = 531), using a questionnaire composed and focused on their self-reported behavior. Although the number of students who are active in NGOs is limited, and very few of them purchase books pertinent to environmental issues, a much larger number of them register and demonstrate an interest in environmental issues through social networks sites. In this sense, and based on the results of this study, the importance of social aspects of learning supported by new technology is emphasized, which indicates the significance of social networks as a new channel for communication and education