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61,005 resultsShowing papers similar to Telling stories about (micro)plastic pollution: Media images, public perceptions and social change
ClearThe influence of media narratives on microplastics risk perception
Researchers examined how media narratives about microplastic pollution influence public risk perception. The study argues that accurate and balanced reporting is essential to prevent misinformation and ensure people clearly understand the risks associated with microplastics. The findings suggest that understanding public perceptions can help design better interventions to reduce plastic consumption and its associated health and environmental impacts.
On the Creation of Risk: Framing of Microplastics Risks in Science and Media
This study analyzes how microplastic risks are framed in scientific literature and media coverage, finding that scientific uncertainty is often amplified into public alarm through media framing, and examining the social construction of environmental risk in the absence of definitive toxicological evidence.
Media Issue Crystallization: The Case of Microplastic in Denmark
This study examined how Danish news media constructed and framed microplastic pollution as an emerging environmental issue, analyzing the process by which a complex scientific problem becomes a public concern. Media framing of microplastics influences public awareness and political action on plastic pollution.
Framing for action? Assessing microplastic-related threat potential for planetary health as a political participation catalyzer
This study analyzed how microplastic-related threats to planetary health are communicated as a political issue, finding that framing microplastics as a systemic health risk increases public concern and may serve as a catalyst for environmental policy action.
Making sense of microplastics? Public understandings of plastic pollution
Researchers conducted focus groups to explore public understanding of microplastics and plastic pollution. Most participants were unaware of microplastics, and few connected their personal plastic use to ocean pollution, instead associating the issue with distant images like the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. The study suggests that the invisible scale of microplastics, limited scientific understanding, and deeply embedded cultural habits around plastic use present significant barriers to behavior change.
A Risky Object? How Microplastics Are Represented in the German Media
Analysis of German print media coverage of microplastics from 2012 to 2019 found a shift from framing microplastics as a distant marine problem to a personal health risk, with the discovery of microplastics in human bodies driving increased alarm and calls for precautionary regulatory action.
Exploring public risk perceptions of microplastics: Findings from a cross‐national qualitative interview study among German and Italian citizens
Researchers conducted interviews with citizens in Germany and Italy to understand how ordinary people think about the risks of microplastics. They found that people often transferred their knowledge about large plastic pollution to microplastics, used concepts like accumulation and dose-response to reason about risks, and saw environmental and human health threats as closely connected. The study suggests that public risk perceptions of microplastics are shaped by intuitive reasoning and personal experiences rather than formal scientific knowledge.
The degree of awareness of the risk of microplastic particles/people’s perception in taking preventive measures for this type of risk
This study surveyed public awareness of microplastic risks and perceptions around taking protective measures, finding that knowledge levels were variable and that most people had limited understanding of exposure routes and health implications. The authors call for targeted public communication campaigns to increase risk awareness.
Framing pollution
This social science analysis explores how "pollution" — and microplastics specifically — is defined not just by science but by political, economic, and cultural forces. The paper examines different ways of framing microplastic pollution: as a waste management failure, a consumer behavior problem, or an inevitable product of industrial capitalism, each with different implications for who bears responsibility. It argues that understanding the social and political dimensions of microplastic pollution is essential for developing just and effective responses.
The importance of discourse when discussing microplastic pollution with oyster stakeholders in Massachusetts, USA
This study examined how different framings and discourses about microplastic pollution influence the perceptions and responses of oyster industry stakeholders, finding that the way microplastic risk is communicated shapes stakeholder willingness to adopt management responses.
Marine microplastic pollution & misinformation in the public sphere: a systematic review
This systematic review examines how scientific findings about marine microplastic pollution are communicated to the public, identifying gaps where misinformation can take hold. Accurate public understanding of microplastic risks matters because it drives consumer choices and policy decisions that affect human health protection.
Health Literacy of Microplastics
This project examines public understanding and awareness of microplastic contamination as a health and environmental issue. The research focuses on health literacy related to microplastics, assessing how well people comprehend the sources, exposure pathways, and potential risks of these ubiquitous pollutants.
Constitutive and Material: An Empirical Analysis of the Two Dimensions of the Communication on Microplastics in Japanese Journals
This study analyzed how microplastic communication has been framed in Japanese academic journals, examining both content and material dimensions of how science about plastic pollution is produced and shared. The research provides insight into how public understanding of microplastics developed in Japan as a scientific and social concern.
Exploring the microplastics health impacts risk perception in Iranian people: Challenges and improvement strategies
Researchers surveyed Iranians to assess their awareness and risk perception of microplastic health hazards, finding significant gaps in public understanding despite growing environmental contamination. The study proposes strategies spanning individual behavior, community education, and national policy to improve microplastic risk management.
From Ocean to Table: How Public Awareness Shapes the Fight Against Microplastic Pollution
This literature review synthesized global studies on public awareness of microplastic pollution, finding that while scientific knowledge has expanded significantly, public understanding and behavioral change remain limited. The study identified effective communication strategies and policy approaches to bridge the gap between scientific evidence and public action.
Public knowledge of microplastics for pro-environmental behavior
Researchers analyzed public knowledge of microplastics and its relationship to pro-environmental behavior, finding that because microplastics are invisible to the naked eye, public perception depends entirely on external information sources rather than direct experience, with implications for environmental communication strategies.
Internet User Awareness Assessment on the Impact of Microplastics on Health
A survey of 281 internet users aged 15–50 across diverse demographics assessed public awareness of microplastic health risks. Results revealed significant gaps in understanding — most respondents had heard of microplastics but underestimated their prevalence in food and water and were unaware of specific health effects. The study highlights that public health messaging about microplastics lags well behind the scientific evidence, which matters because consumer behaviour and policy support both depend on informed public understanding.
Who worries about microplastics? The relative importance of personal values and individual risk judgements / ¿A quién le preocupan los microplásticos? La importancia relativa de los valores personales y los juicios individuales de riesgo
Researchers surveyed nearly 700 people in Norway to understand what drives public worry about microplastic pollution. They found that personal values and individual risk perceptions were the strongest predictors of concern, more so than demographic factors or general environmental attitudes. The study suggests that communication strategies about microplastic risks should account for how people personally evaluate threats rather than relying solely on scientific information.
Public perceptions and expert opinions about microplastic and nanoplastic contamination in water
This qualitative study explored how the public and experts perceive microplastic and nanoplastic contamination in water, using interviews and focus groups across multiple stakeholder groups. It found significant gaps between scientific understanding and public risk perception, with implications for water policy and communication strategies.
Review: Global perceptions of plastic pollution: The contours and limits of debate — R0/PR3
A review of 39 studies on public perceptions of plastic pollution found that research has clustered around marine ecosystems, single-use plastics, and recycling barriers, while underexploring systemic production reduction and connections to climate change or broader biodiversity loss. The paper emphasizes that terminology choices — 'marine debris' vs. 'microplastics' vs. 'plastic pollution' — frame public understanding differently and should inform policy communications.
Advancing a Cleaner Society: Exploring the Impact of Storytelling, Social Media, Humor, and Celebrity Influence in Research Communication for Pollution
This paper explored how storytelling, social media, humor, and celebrity involvement can be used to more effectively communicate environmental pollution threats such as microplastics and biodiversity loss to the public. The review argues that creative and culturally resonant communication strategies are essential for driving behavioral change toward a cleaner society.
An empirical assessment of worry about microplastics among the Norwegian public
Researchers surveyed 699 Norwegian adults online about their familiarity with and worry about microplastics, along with risk perception components including controllability, threat level, and personal values. Women and older respondents reported higher worry, and those endorsing self-transcendence values showed greater concern, though these demographic and value associations became non-significant once risk perception variables were included in the regression model.
What does the public think about microplastics? Insights from an empirical analysis of mental models elicited through free associations
Researchers surveyed 2,720 Norwegians and found that the public primarily associates microplastics with ocean pollution and harm to animals, while awareness of microplastic sources and potential solutions remains low, with responses varying by age, gender, education, and personal values.
Bridging the gap between microplastic research and social awareness of microplastic pollution through science communication: A call for action
Researchers examined the gap between scientific knowledge of microplastic pollution and public awareness, calling for improved science communication strategies. The study found that despite an enormous body of research documenting microplastics in soil, water, air, and organisms, effective translation of these findings into public understanding and policy action remains inadequate.