Environmental perception and literacy of downstream high school students toward social media forest-land conversion content

The purpose of this study is to determine the environmental perception and literacy of eleventh-grade public senior high school students in Bantul Regency—a downstream area vulnerable to flooding—regarding social media content on upstream forest-to-oil-palm plantation conversion, and to analyze the correlation between these variables. This descriptive-correlational study was conducted from April to May 2026 across three public senior high schools in Bantul Regency. Through a purposive sampling technique, three schools were selected to involve 134 students based on their schools' proximity to the main river, reflecting their direct vulnerability to the downstream ecological impacts of upstream land conversion. Data were gathered through validated and reliable questionnaires, knowledge tests, and interviews. Statistical analysis was performed using descriptive quantitative methods and Spearman's Rank correlation test. The findings revealed that the majority of students (64.18%) possessed a moderate level of environmental perception, whereas their environmental literacy was categorized as high (M = 182.27 out of 240). Furthermore, a moderately positive and significant correlation was found between students' environmental perception and literacy (r = 0.433, p < 0.05). This study concludes that while environmental perception influences literacy, integrating digital media literacy with the local ecological disaster context into the curriculum is essential to foster proactive conservation behaviours among students in disaster-prone areas.