Kaveera Singh, Surina Singh, Gan Moodley, Deborah Robertson-Andersson. Presented at the ninth Scientific Symposium of the Western Indian Ocean Marine Science (WIOMSA) 2015.

1. Using social media as a tool to track the social impact of plastic pollution in the marine
environment.
Kaveera Singh; Surina Singh; Gan Moodley; Deborah Robertson-Andersson
University of KwaZulu-Natal; School of Life Science Westville Campus, Life Sciences Building
University Road, Private Bag X54001; Durban 4000, South Africa
210517632@stu.ukzn.ac.za
Poster presentation
ABSTRACT
Despite the global concern and awareness of plastic pollution there is continuing use of plastic
products, due to its cost-effective and convenient nature. Improper waste disposal of terrestrial
plastics account for approximately 80 % of the plastics found in marine environments. Marine
conservation education programs addressing waste disposal/pollution are largely ineffective.
Scientists have realised that human behaviour plays an important role in marine conservation
(MC). The main issue appears to be how conservation messages are conveyed. Social media are
found to be an effective way to communicate with the general public. This study aims to 1)
examine strategies and evaluate bias around plastic pollution awareness using social media as
tools to educate people on the importance of MC and 2) track the spread and impact of marine
plastic pollution conservation messages. Twenty biodiversity-related YouTubeLLC
videos were
selected, ranked on criteria related to message impact and a cluster analysis was run to
determine the 10 highest-ranked criteria. These were used to create two YouTubeLLC
videos
(one which included the highest and the other which included lowest ranked criteria) which were
compared using Likert Scale questionnaires, to test the efficacy of conventional conservation
message transmission. Memes of marine mammals, reptiles, birds and scenes affected by plastic
pollution were uploaded on social media sites. The number of ‘likes’, ‘shares’ and ‘comments’
were used to interpret reactions, to determine meme bias. Surveys were conducted to test
awareness of macro and micro- plastics in the marine environment in different age groups and
factorially analysed. The results indicate that MC education needs to be viewed as a lifestyle
preference to encourage sustainability.
Key words: Marine Conservation; social media; conservation education; marine plastic
pollution.