Climate change has been underestimated by youth
In this day and age, the problem with climate change is not the lack of awareness or information, but the lack of forward action to improve it. Although young adults in the U.S. may be more concerned about the climate than older adults, it is unclear to what degree they are engaged with the issue. When it comes to actually contacting government officials to urge them to take action to reduce global warming, Millennials are only 13% likely, Baby Boomers, 12% and members of the Silent Generation, 10% to report having done so. This surprisingly low statistic show all the hype around saving the earth online isn't equally translating to activism and reform. Retweeting a save the turtles post or liking a picture on Instagram to plant a tree is NOT the same as making real change. Talking to local officials or protesting are more productive ways to help the environment. The youth of this age has made a standard that social media awareness is the same as real life awareness. Most often these online posts don't even inform you on the real damage occurring.
Comment: I see many youth make memes or jokes about real environmental problems we have due to it’s popularization on social media. Some of us have almost became desensitized to it. A lot of young people don't see these environmental issues first hand in their own lives, so all the posts and pictures over social media can be ignored or seen as another reality. But this is our earth. The earth we all live in and need. #Savetheturtles became more of a joke than a campaign. It's easily laughed about because of the trend it's associated with over social media. This makes teens forget climate change is a real severe problem and not some obscure concept that exist in a far land. It can only be taken seriously when the real affects pollution, plastic, and global warming has on sea life and nature.