Eco-Anxiety as a Mediator: Exploring Social Media’s Role in Gen Z’s Sustainable Consumption in Bangladesh.

Abstract

Since climate change is becoming a major issue, it is important to understand how Gen Z in Bangladesh responds to environmental issues—especially through digital media like social media. This study explores how social media messages influence Gen Z's consumption towards green products with a specific focus on the mediation function of eco-anxiety. Using the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) framework, the present study conceptualized social media as a stimulus that potentially provokes affective responses—e.g., fear of the environment—that, in turn, affects green buying behavior. A questionnaire was distributed among 311 Gen Z participants from different cities of Bangladesh. PLS-SEM was utilized to conduct the analysis using Smart-PLS 4 to test relationships and the mediation effect. The results show that viewing environmental content on social media has a strongly positive effect on green purchase intention. Eco-anxiety also plays a partial role in this relationship, whereby feeling anxious about the environment can motivate youths to have greener consumption. These findings will enable marketers to create more effective green messages and policymakers to craft campaigns that appeal to young people. However, since this research was based on self-reported data from one country, the findings can never truly be accurate for everywhere. Future research must use more diverse groups and take advantage of long-term research in order to learn more about these patterns.