IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v17y2025i14p6336-d1698929.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Exploring the Associations Between Socioeconomic and Demographic Factors and Literacy in Environmental and Digital Pollution

Author

Listed:
  • Arava Tsoury

    (Faculty of Management & Economics, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer 40250, Israel
    Ruppin Research Group in Environmental and Social Sustainability, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer 40250, Israel
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

  • Zohar Barnett-Itzhaki

    (Ruppin Research Group in Environmental and Social Sustainability, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer 40250, Israel
    Faculty of Engineering, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer 40250, Israel
    These authors contributed equally to this work.)

Abstract

The widespread integration of digital technologies into the industry, institutions, and everyday life has introduced environmental challenges known as digital pollution, including the carbon footprint of data centers, energy consumption of digital devices, and electronic waste (e-waste). While general environmental education is extensively studied, public awareness and understanding of digital pollution remain overlooked. This study investigates how demographic factors, including age, education level, income, and occupation, in addition to the perception of environmental knowledge and self-assessed tech-savviness, are associated with environmental and digital pollution literacy. A cross-sectional survey of 300 participants from the UK was conducted, assessing the associations between demographic characteristics, environmental knowledge, and digital pollution awareness. The findings reveal that education level and income are not significantly correlated with literacy scores, whereas age and tech-savviness display meaningful associations with digital pollution literacy. Additionally, general environmental knowledge is positively correlated with digital pollution literacy, suggesting that enhancing environmental literacy may foster a deeper understanding of digital sustainability issues. Notably, a gap emerged between self-reported and actual knowledge, highlighting the need for educational interventions. These findings suggest practical implications for developing targeted educational programs and policies that promote sustainable digital practices and reduce environmental impacts.

Suggested Citation

  • Arava Tsoury & Zohar Barnett-Itzhaki, 2025. "Exploring the Associations Between Socioeconomic and Demographic Factors and Literacy in Environmental and Digital Pollution," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(14), pages 1-19, July.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:14:p:6336-:d:1698929
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/14/6336/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/17/14/6336/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Xiaoxiao Li & Laping Wu & Han Gao & Nanyan Hu, 2024. "Can digital literacy improve organic fertilizer utilization rates?: Empirical evidence from China," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 26(12), pages 31921-31946, December.
    2. Mira Hajj-Hassan & Rawad Chaker & Anne-Marie Cederqvist, 2024. "Environmental Education: A Systematic Review on the Use of Digital Tools for Fostering Sustainability Awareness," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(9), pages 1-25, April.
    3. David Fredericks & Zhong Fan & Sandra Woolley & Ed de Quincey & Mike Streeton, 2020. "A Decade On, How Has the Visibility of Energy Changed? Energy Feedback Perceptions from UK Focus Groups," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(10), pages 1-17, May.
    4. Ana Cano-Ortiz & Juan Peña-Martínez & Eusebio Cano, 2025. "Environmental Education as a Fundamental Tool for Preventing the Ingestion of Chemical Contaminants in Spain," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-17, April.
    5. Jelle Boeve-de Pauw & Niklas Gericke & Daniel Olsson & Teresa Berglund, 2015. "The Effectiveness of Education for Sustainable Development," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-25, November.
    6. Reed Ciarloni & K. Bruce Newbold, 2023. "Air Pollution Health Literacy among Active Commuters in Hamilton, Ontario," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 20(13), pages 1-23, July.
    7. Pothitou, Mary & Hanna, Richard F. & Chalvatzis, Konstantinos J., 2016. "Environmental knowledge, pro-environmental behaviour and energy savings in households: An empirical study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C), pages 1217-1229.
    8. Sa Xu & Cunyi Yang & Zhehao Huang & Pierre Failler, 2022. "Interaction between Digital Economy and Environmental Pollution: New Evidence from a Spatial Perspective," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(9), pages 1-23, April.
    9. Chen Wang & Li Si, 2024. "The Intersection of Public Policy and Public Access: Digital Inclusion, Digital Literacy Education, and Libraries," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(5), pages 1-22, February.
    10. Miguel Ángel Queiruga-Dios & Emilia López-Iñesta & María Diez-Ojeda & María Consuelo Sáiz-Manzanares & José Benito Vázquez Dorrío, 2020. "Citizen Science for Scientific Literacy and the Attainment of Sustainable Development Goals in Formal Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 12(10), pages 1-18, May.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Regina Grazuleviciene & Sandra Andrusaityte & Aurimas Rapalavicius, 2021. "Measuring the Outcomes of a Participatory Research Study: Findings from an Environmental Epidemiological Study in Kaunas City," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(16), pages 1-15, August.
    2. Anthony Amoah & Thomas Addoah, 2021. "Does environmental knowledge drive pro-environmental behaviour in developing countries? Evidence from households in Ghana," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 23(2), pages 2719-2738, February.
    3. Birgitta Nordén & Helen Avery, 2021. "Global Learning for Sustainable Development: A Historical Review," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(6), pages 1-31, March.
    4. Zhenxiang Cao & Liqing Peng, 2023. "The Impact of Digital Economics on Environmental Quality: A System Dynamics Approach," SAGE Open, , vol. 13(4), pages 21582440231, December.
    5. Julius Grund & Antje Brock, 2019. "Why We Should Empty Pandora’s Box to Create a Sustainable Future: Hope, Sustainability and Its Implications for Education," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-20, February.
    6. Ming, Yaxin & Deng, Huixin & Wu, Xiaoyue, 2022. "The negative effect of air pollution on people's pro-environmental behavior," Journal of Business Research, Elsevier, vol. 142(C), pages 72-87.
    7. Shunbin Zhong & Huafu Shen & Ziheng Niu & Yang Yu & Lin Pan & Yaojun Fan & Atif Jahanger, 2022. "Moving towards Environmental Sustainability: Can Digital Economy Reduce Environmental Degradation in China?," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(23), pages 1-23, November.
    8. Chen, Liang & Guo, Yirong, 2023. "The drivers of sustainable development: Natural resources extraction and education for low-middle- and high-income countries," Resources Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(PB).
    9. Ascione, Fabrizio & De Masi, Rosa Francesca & de Rossi, Filippo & Ruggiero, Silvia & Vanoli, Giuseppe Peter, 2016. "Optimization of building envelope design for nZEBs in Mediterranean climate: Performance analysis of residential case study," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 938-957.
    10. Fang, Xingming & Wang, Lu & Sun, Chuanwang & Zheng, Xuemei & Wei, Jing, 2021. "Gap between words and actions: Empirical study on consistency of residents supporting renewable energy development in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 148(PA).
    11. Shaikha R. Al-Nuaimi & Sami G. Al-Ghamdi, 2022. "Assessment of Knowledge, Attitude and Practice towards Sustainability Aspects among Higher Education Students in Qatar," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-17, October.
    12. Eva-Maria Waltner & Werner Rieß & Christoph Mischo, 2019. "Development and Validation of an Instrument for Measuring Student Sustainability Competencies," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 11(6), pages 1-20, March.
    13. Jianping Huang & Yuheng Tao & Minghong Shi & Jun Wu, 2022. "Empirical Study on Design Trend of Taiwan (1960s–2020): The Evolution of Theme, Diversity and Sustainability," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(19), pages 1-22, October.
    14. Mei-Rui Zhong & Jia-Yu Fu & Han Zou, 2025. "The data as a production factor: nonlinear effects of factor efficiency on haze pollution," Environment, Development and Sustainability: A Multidisciplinary Approach to the Theory and Practice of Sustainable Development, Springer, vol. 27(4), pages 8977-9002, April.
    15. Daniela M. Salvioni & Simona Franzoni & Raffaella Cassano, 2017. "Sustainability in the Higher Education System: An Opportunity to Improve Quality and Image," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-27, May.
    16. Gkargkavouzi, Anastasia & Halkos, George & Matsiori, Steriani, 2019. "How do motives and knowledge relate to intention to perform environmental behavior? Assessing the mediating role of constraints," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 1-1.
    17. K. Deshika De S. Jayasekara & Darshana Rajapaksa & U. A. D. Prasanthi Gunawardena, 2024. "Impacts of Environmental Knowledge, Motives, and Behavior on Ecotourism," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 16(11), pages 1-20, June.
    18. Shigetomi, Yosuke & Matsumoto, Ken'ichi & Ogawa, Yuki & Shiraki, Hiroto & Yamamoto, Yuki & Ochi, Yuki & Ehara, Tomoki, 2018. "Driving forces underlying sub-national carbon dioxide emissions within the household sector and implications for the Paris Agreement targets in Japan," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 2321-2332.
    19. Yu Gan & Tao Xu & NengRui Xu & JiLv Xu & Dan Qiao, 2021. "How Environmental Awareness and Knowledge Affect Urban Residents’ Willingness to Participate in Rubber Plantation Ecological Restoration Programs: Evidence from Hainan, China," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-17, February.
    20. Sajid Rahman Khattak & Muhammad Nouman & Muhammad Fayaz & Laura Mariana Cismaș & Lucia Negruț & Constantin Viorel Negruț & Sultan Salem, 2021. "Corporate Social Responsibility and Employee Green Behavior in the Hospitality Industry: A Cross-Country Study," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-15, September.

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:17:y:2025:i:14:p:6336-:d:1698929. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.