Media use, interpersonal communication, and personal relevance as external and internal representations of climate change

Personal relevance is a key driver of individual climate action. It is also related to media use and interpersonal communication, which the current study examines from two perspectives. First, individuals may find climate change personally relevant because they experience it vicariously through the media and other information sources. Second, they may engage with climate change information because the issue is personally relevant. This study tested these models using structural equation modeling of online survey data from representative samples in Singapore (n = 1,997) and the United States (n = 2,009). Findings supported both models, albeit the first one more strongly. In the first model, the relationship between the use of traditional audiovisual media and personal relevance was serially mediated by perceived experience and perceived risk. The indirect effect was the same to two decimals in both countries (beta =.12), suggesting that traditional audiovisual communication about climate change may be key to promoting public engagement with climate change. In the second model, personal relevance positively predicted the use of traditional audiovisual and textual media, social media, and interpersonal communication. In both countries, those paths had medium effect sizes (beta >.29). These findings do not resolve which causal direction is correct, and it is possible that both occur simultaneously in sort of reinforcing spiral.