METHODS OF REPRESENTING ECOLOGICAL CONSCIOUSNESS AMONG YOUNG PEOPLE IN THE MODERN MEDIA ENVIRONMENT OF RUSSIA AND ABROAD

This research examines the methodological principles of the psychological study of young people's ecological consciousness through the perspectives of the present-day media environment. It is common knowledge that ecology is gradually playing a more and more important role in the modern human society and hence examining ecological consciousness is one of the urgent interdisciplinary problems of the XXIst century caused by the aggravation of global ecological problems (the greenhouse effect, acid rain, damage to the ozone layer, soil and water pollution, increased desertification and deforestation; nuclear and chemical accidents) and the need for the realization of the "sustainable development" ideas. The younger generation of the "millennials" which is more open and enthusiastic towards new changes and challenges is becoming a particular focus of a scientific research when it comes to ecological and environmental sustainability and thinking, on the one hand, and the new media environment, on the other hand. People's fascination with ecology of all kinds is tied in with the information explosion that has marked our digital civilization. And being an integrative part of this new media world, young individuals have become more and more conscious of the interrelationships of all the life and structures in the universe around us. Thus, the purpose of our research is to analyze and understand the psychological image and structure of young individuals' ecological consciousness created by the new media space in Russian Federation and abroad. The questions raised in the paper also concern the problems of the development of ecological culture, education and upbringing among modern younger generation as key components of shaping its ecological consciousness today and in the future. We hypothesize that nowadays the present-day media environment may become a powerful tool in the formation of a new ecologically conscious personality maintaining a harmonious balance between inner self and the outer space. Our studies introduce recommendations on how to include an ecological aspect in young people's academic education as well as how to popularize and increase their environmental awareness by means of the new media civilization.