If you’re like me, then maybe you think digital media is more environmentally friendly than print media since digital media does not use paper so more trees are saved. But is that really true?
Digital media is consumed using electronic devices which will generate electronic waste (e-waste) when we throw away devices that are old or no longer working. E-waste is a growing problem. The volume of e-waste produced globally has increased annually over 9 years. (source) Singapore alone produces a huge amount of e-waste every year, equivalent to the mass of approximately 26 million laptops. (source) (That is almost 5 times Singapore’s population size! :o)
E-waste is harmful to the environment, it contains hazardous/toxic chemicals that pollute the soil, water, and air when not disposed of properly. All these can have detrimental effects on the health of biodiversity and us. (source) After learning about soil in Dr. Coleman’s lecture, it is concerning that e-waste can harm our precious, non-renewable soil. Moreover, most of our e-waste is disposed on landfills in developing nations, exposing the people there to various health risks. (source)
Ghanaians working in a landfill for e-waste in Agbogbloshie (source)
I believe e-waste is quite an obvious environmental consequence of digital media but have you ever thought of the amount of energy used when we consume digital media?
I’m not just talking about the energy used to power our electronic devices but more about the huge amount of energy required to sustain the information communication technology (ICT) infrastructures such as data centers that power digital media. (source) The ICT industry is heavily dependent on coal as its energy source and is responsible for about 2% of global greenhouse gas emissions. (source) 2% may not seem significant but with the proliferation of digital media, this number is projected to increase to 14% by 2040 (source), which is worrying. Check out our senior’s blog post to find out more about the carbon footprint of the Internet, which is where most digital media is found.
Despite the harmful environmental impacts of digital media, it is undeniable that digital media enables information to be transmitted to more people and at a higher speed compared to print media. This is advantageous as it facilitates an increase in awareness of environmental issues. However, the instantaneous and wide-reaching nature of digital media can also cause problems that I will touch on in my next few posts, so stay tuned!
Overall, both print media and digital media have negative environmental impacts while digital media seems like a better tool for environmental education. Instead of debating which type of media is better for the environment, we should focus on ensuring sustainable consumption of both and ICT companies should reduce their reliance on coal and shift towards cleaner energy sources.
Thank you for reading, I would love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
jolee2001 September 13, 2020
Hi Si Ying,
I never knew that digital media has such detrimental impacts on the environment! I guess that’s because I’ve always focused on the things presented to me (online news), and never looked into what happened in the process of producing news online. Do you think individuals like us have a part to play in addressing the environmental problems of digital media, or is it solely the responsibility of ICT companies to do so?
– Jo
Si Ying September 13, 2020 — Post Author
Hi Jo,
I didn’t know either until I researched about it! I believe most of us would not think of the environmental impacts caused by all the structures and systems that support digital media since they are really distant from us and is rarely talked about. I think that we can do our part by reducing our e-waste, this can be done by buying new electronic devices only when needed and selling/buying second-hand electronic devices. If the electronic devices are non-functional and beyond repair, put them into e-waste recycling bins instead of throwing them away. I also think that consumerism fuels the environmental problems of digital media, as evident from the snaking queues whenever Apple releases a new iPhone model. However, most people are probably unaware of the environmental harm of their actions, so people like us can take up the role of spreading awareness and encouraging them to change their behavior. In terms of reducing the carbon footprint of digital media, we can do simple things like unsubscribing from unnecessary emails and reducing the number of searches we make, check out this website for more tips! Therefore, individuals like us also have the responsibility to address these environmental problems.
Cheers,
Si Ying
ENV3102 September 14, 2020
good reply to Jo’s Q
adnazhari99 September 23, 2020
Hi Si Ying !
This blog post immediately caught my eyes! I really did not think too deeply about the harm consuming digital media can cause. Currently in Singapore, there are avenues where we can actually recycle our e-waste like e-waste bin. As I doubt that the use of technology will decrease any time soon, do you think this current measure is effective enough to minimize e-waste?
Best regards
Azhari
Si Ying September 24, 2020 — Post Author
Hi Azhari!
Thank you for reading my blog post! Actually, I believe that recycling e-waste should be the last option if we want to effectively minimize our e-waste. It is more important to firstly, reduce our consumption of electronic products, such as by buying new ones only when the previous ones are no longer functional. Next, we should try to repair the electronic products whenever possible instead of purchasing a new one immediately. For electronic products that are still functional but we don’t need anymore, we can sell or donate them to others that will have better use for them. Lastly, only when the product is no longer working and cannot be repaired, then we should recycle them. This can apply to non-electronic products as well!
Even with the many e-waste bins around Singapore, not many people practice e-waste recycling, this is probably due to the lack of awareness on the problem of e-waste and the lack of publicity for these e-waste recycling measures. This is evident from the survey results in Alicia’s recent blog post! I also feel that e-waste isn’t really talked about by the government and environmental groups in Singapore. Therefore, this measure alone is not effective enough to tackle the e-waste problem. There needs to be more education on the problems of e-waste for people to become more conscious of their actions in order to effectively reduce e-waste.
-Si Ying