Responding to environmental pollution-related online posts: behavior of Web surfers and its influencing factors

The behavior of Web surfers can highlight or suppress environmental pollution-related incidents, so it is important to explore their behavior and the factors that influence them. Thus, based on a questionnaire survey conducted in China, we studied the behavior of Web surfers in response to environmental pollution-related online posts and the factors that influenced them. The results showed that half of the surveyed Web surfers commented on the environmental pollution-related posts. In terms of posts regarding complaints, lawsuits, or mass protests in the virtual community, 16.46% Web surfers answered they would participate in the activities in real life. Furthermore, regression analysis showed that different types of posts had positive correlations with the reposting, commenting, and browsing behaviors of Web surfers, while the sources of posts also had positive correlations with browsing behaviors. The different types and sources of posts both had positive correlations with behavior regarding complaints, lawsuits, or mass protests by Web surfers. Gender only had a positive correlation with the commenting behavior of Web surfers. These findings could support decision-making regarding policies to help prevent environmental pollution-related incidents.