Impact of Media Exposure on Environmental Legal Literacy and-Pro Environmental Behaviors Among University Students

Abstract

This study discussed how much media exposure contributes to environmental legal literacy and pro-environmental behavior among university students in Saudi Arabia. It adopted a quantitative design through the administration of a structured questionnaire to 120 respondents purposively selected from the law and media student cohorts. The data revealed, by independent samples t-test analysis, that the environmental awareness and pro-environmental behavior were significantly higher in the media students compared to their counterparts studying law (MD = 25.36, p < 0.001). Indeed, such results would advocate that media channels are powerful instruments toward ecological responsibility as well as raising legal literacy levels among university students. Still, they demonstrate such behavior to a lesser degree due to curricular constraints in the learning process of matters relating to the environment, on ecological responsibility, and the role of clear legal guidance in enhancing its effects. These findings advocate the combination of media and legal education for raising environmental consciousness and sustaining pro-environmental behavior. Advancing the level of environmental awareness requires ecological standards to be implemented by the whole society so that the general public becomes acquainted with the standards of sustainability principles and practices.