Ecoansiedade e alterações climáticas: a importância dos big data

Abstract

Contemporary society faces the challenge of confronting climate change and its consequences at the level of ecosystems, social dynamics, and mental health. In this context, studies on the anxiety generated by environmental concerns and climate change, called eco-anxiety, have emerged. The existence of massive amounts of data or big data on climate change, collected and processed by credible institutions, also forms part of the current context. The main objective of this research is to understand the levels of eco-anxiety, concern, and emotional states promoted by access to massive amounts of data on climate change. The methodology is quantitative; we recur to the Climate Change Anxiety Scale by Clayton and Karazsia (2020), complemented by a Climate Change Emotional Scale and a Climate Change Worry Scale. The results point to low levels of eco-anxiety and moderate levels of concern and emotional states; whereas the behavioral adjustment dimension presents the most significant results.