Predicting the future or creating it? : Media influence in narratives of the future and its implications for sustainable habits

A growing body of research has provided evidence showing that our actions in the present influence the future, and many authors have theorized on how to communicate this perspective to promote change in people’s behavior effectively. However, little has been said on how it works in the opposite direction… Does our idea of the future affect our present life? What is the influence of the media on the narrative we create about the future? How does the long-term perspective condition the sustainable habits we need for a more sustainable world? This paper aims to understand –through a quantitative approach- the relationship between young adults’ media consumption, their perception of the future, and their future-building behaviors through a quantitative approach. With data from 260 survey responses from Colombia, and through tests such as factor analysis, correlations, regressions, and moderations, this thesis explores the interaction between these concepts. Findings show a small correlation between media, beliefs about the future, and, eventually, habit transformation. However, the results suggest that deeper research with a more significant sample is needed to deliver conclusions