Investigating the relationship between the use of television programs and the tendency to preserve the environment (a case study of citizens aged 18 and over in Tehran)

Dissertation for Master's degree

Abstract

In developing countries, such as Iran, environmental issues have social-cultural aspects rather than technical aspects. Therefore, the main goal of environmental protection in relation to the social environment is to increase environmental awareness at the community level and change the social vision and strengthen the environmental culture. In the meantime, the media plays a significant role in creating changes at the community level, and the visual media such as television plays a significant role due to the variety of programs. Therefore, the main goal of the current research is to investigate the relationship between the use of television programs and the tendency to preserve the environment among the citizens of Tehran 18 years and above, so that solutions can be provided to improve the quality and quantity of television programs as a mass communication medium to increase the awareness and interest of citizens in order to act optimally and protect the environment. The statistical population of the research was citizens of 18 years and above from 22 districts of Tehran. According to Cochran's formula, the sample size was 384 people. during which a number of questionnaires were randomly distributed among citizens in each region, then SWOT technique and SPSS software were used for data analysis. The reliability of the questionnaire was checked using "Cronbach's alpha coefficient" and it was determined as 0.8. Pearson's correlation coefficient was used to check the relationship between the variables, and linear regression was used to check the research hypotheses.

Analytical results of the research showed: Television programs with environmental content can be effective in raising the awareness of adults in Tehran to preserve the environment, and television as a national media can have a significant impact on the protection of the environment from the citizens.

The "priority of choice" of television environmental programs, among Tehrani citizens, was "news-documentary" environmental programs and happy programs. Television programs with the content of "artistic-entertainment- and environmental occasions" had the least audience in the statistical community of the research. According to the results of the SWAT matrix of the research, the main "weaknesses" of the television media in relation to environmental protection include:  A- Low amount of programs, B- Poor content of programs, C- Lack of quality of TV environmental programs were considered. The most important "strengths" of television include: A- The ability to increase the audience's positive attitude towards the preservation of the environment, B- The ability to raise society's sense of responsibility to protect the environment, C- The ability to arouse the audience's protest against those who harm the environment.

On the other hand, the country's national television did not pay attention to the existing opportunities and threats, "happy environmental programs" in attracting different age groups to protect the environment was the most important "internal opportunity" of television, while the inability to "increase the environmental awareness of the society" was the main It is considered the most "external threat" for the country's television media (Sada and Sima).

Key words:  Environment, video media, television, awareness, SWOT technique (SWOT).

1-1- Introduction

Investigating the relationship between television programs in environmental protection by Tehrani citizens and the effect of this media on the behavior of people in the society from the perspective of the formation of environmental protection culture, is the basic purpose of this research. Accordingly, during this research, we will focus on the performance, broadcast rate, type and quality of environmental television programs. In this research, we try to investigate; Basically, there is a connection between the television program and the preservation of the environment by society? To what extent is the broadcast of television programs dedicated to protecting the environment; In other words, we want to determine what percentage of the country's television programs belong to the awareness of the society about environmental protection, and in general, whether the amount and type of television programs have an effect on enlightening people's attitude towards environmental protection or not! If the answer is yes, what is the effect? In the rest of this chapter, we will first state the research problem and while pointing to the different attitudes that have been raised about the extent and manner of the impact of mass communication tools, we will investigate the importance and necessity of conducting the research, then we will raise the questions and hypotheses of the research, after presenting the conceptual and practical definitions, we will specify the research variables and bring up the relationship between them.

Statement of the problem

Undoubtedly, the media exerts a deep influence on the society so that they are able to create any kind of change in the society's culture with acceptable and popular methods. There is no doubt that the media has an undeniable impact in introducing and understanding the environment, preventing its destruction and improving the living conditions of people in the society.  In fact, it can be said that mass media, especially television, is a part of the learning curve of people in society, and with its wide possibilities, it can act as a privileged channel of communication that no other tool can compete with. From a social point of view, environmental problems are more behavioral and cultural than the result of technological development and industrialization of societies. The various and sometimes conflicting roles of the mass media in relation to the preservation of the environment for the production of environmental symbols and symbols and the creation of values ??and beliefs in society is a feature that requires us to know the performance of the media in relation to the protection of various areas of the environment. In the context of promoting environmental ethics and culture, the adopted methods should have a practical aspect and broad coverage (Kirimi, 2012). Since the health of the environment in any part of the world is affected by the health of the environment in other parts of the globe, in relation to the protection of the environment and the survival of God-given resources, the main condition for the efficiency of information and the participation of people in communication and the distribution of environmental information in societies, the strengthening of mass media programs, especially television It is related to the environment.  In fact, the accurate understanding of the nature of the media and the investigation of their capabilities and positive functions have an increasing contribution to the development of human knowledge, culture, skills and individual and social attitudes. Paying attention to this important mission is an undeniable necessity for statesmen, planners and mass media operators (Rashidi and Rashidi, 2013) and it doubles the need to pay attention to this issue.

Today, apart from organizations and institutions such as schools, universities, mosques, libraries, museums and art galleries, whose purpose and function is to influence the behavior and personality formation of people, there are other institutions that basically serve other specific purposes. have come into being But indirectly, they have an important educational effect on people's behavior and personality. They transfer culture, knowledge and information informally from one generation to another. Mass communication media are of this type.   Radio, TV, cinema, press, magazines, mobile phone, computer. Although they were created for some other purposes, they have an important educational effect on people's behavioral patterns and contribute to the growth and development of public culture to a large extent (Rashidi and Rashidi, 2013). In this regard, and by conducting this research, we intend to investigate; Is there a significant relationship between the performance of mass media (TV) and the level of environmental protection by the people of the society? Are effective television programs produced by radio and television in our country to promote the general culture of the society and improve the environmental attitude of the people and make it possible to protect the environment? And does the broadcast time of existing programs fit with the needs of environmental culture and community awareness in this regard?  

It seems that the mass media does not address the issue of the environment as it deserves!   The duration of broadcasting of environmental programs from different television networks, as well as the quantity and quality of environmental reports presented through television, is proof of this. The effect of mass communication tools on different and conflicting attitudes has been expressed.