The Impact of Digital Media on Environmental Communication and Policy Response: A Big Data Quantitative Study of Coastal Cities in China

This study takes China’s coastal cities as a case study to systematically explore the mechanisms of digital media in environmental issue communication and public discourse construction, as well as its impact on regional governance. Using a mixed research approach, through comprehensive analysis of 120,000 social media data points, 2,287 valid questionnaires, and 37 policy documents from 2020 to 2023, the study reveals quantitative patterns in digital media’s environmental communication. The findings indicate that digital media not only significantly enhances public participation in environmental issues but also influences government decision-making efficiency through an “emotion-policy” response mechanism. A multivariate regression model constructed by the study confirms that for every additional 1,000 social media discussions, policy response time is shortened by an average of 8.4 days; for every 0.1-point increase in public sentiment polarity index, environmental governance budget allocation increases by 3.7%. This research provides empirical support for environmental communication theories in the digital era and offers practical pathways for environmental governance in coastal cities.