Systematic review of the influence of environmental communication on pro-environmental behavior from digital and social media contexts

Abstract In the face of escalating climate challenges, understanding how environmental messages influence pro-environmental behavior has become a central concern for scholars and practitioners. While research on environmental communication has expanded over the past two decades, much of this work is increasingly situated within digital and social media environments. Nevertheless, the literature examining the communication mechanisms driving pro-environmental outcomes remains theoretically fragmented and empirically inconsistent. It is therefore timely to synthesize the field and provide conceptual clarity that can guide future investigations. This study presents a systematic literature review, underpinned by the TCCM framework, to map the theories, contexts, characteristics, and methodologies used in environmental communication research in digital and social media contexts targeting pro-environmental behavior. Drawing on 122 peer-reviewed journal articles primarily focused on digital and social media, the review identifies core message strategies, mediating psychological processes, and moderating variables, culminating in an integrative conceptual framework that illustrates how cognitive, affective, normative, and identity-related mechanisms interact to shape pro-environmental outcomes. The review concludes with an extensive research agenda that calls for theoretical expansion beyond traditional attitudinal models (theory), deeper investigation of digital and social media communication affordances and dynamics (context), systematic classification of psychological mediators and moderators (characteristics), and adoption of more ecologically valid and interdisciplinary methods (methodology) to enhance the understanding of environmental message effects.