How the Internet + Green Public Welfare Model Cultivates a Low-Carbon and Green Lifestyle: Case of Ant Forest
Sining Zhang
Abstract
The “Internet +” era creates many positive opportunities for people to lead a low-carbon lifestyle. However, in the existing literature, there are few studies on how users’ green awareness and behavior are affected. So this study aims to empirically test the effect of factors on green self-awareness and individual behavior change proposing a research model using the Ant Forest app. Through survey investigation, 220 valid questionnaires were collected. This study analyzed the data by using the partial least squares path analysis method (PLS method). The results indicate that environmental concern, sense of achievement, and social and entertainment have a positive influence on users’ awareness change. Meanwhile, social and entertainment as well as self-awareness change positively affect individual behavior change. The findings suggest that a well-designed “Internet + Green public welfare” model can enhance innovation combined with environmental protection and gamification and develop a public green behavior performance. In addition, implications, the limitation, and future trends are discussed.