In today’s world where we are relying on online communication and social media, each minute spent online may seem harmless but it has a huge impact on carbon footprint. A new study by CloudZero shows that 7% of global emissions are due to tech industries and their data centers. CloudZero calculated total carbon emissions from different online activities to see how our harmless actions can lead to harmful effects on the environment.
Nowadays we have many social media platforms like Snapchat, TikTok and Instagram. Even though these platforms have a lot of negative effects on mental health, they have negative effects on the environment too. Many of the carbon emissions are made when data centers of these platforms are made to work because of our scrolling on these platforms. They often generate large amounts of electricity to make the scrolling of billions of users worldwide possible.
The most carbon emissions by a social media platform are produced by TikTok. It produces 2.63 grams of carbon emission in a minute. A user spends an average of 95 per day on TikTok which can lead to 250 grams of carbon emission per day. It is followed by Instagram which produces 250 grams of carbon emission per day by one person. Facebook produces 26 grams of carbon emission and YouTube produces 9 grams of carbon emission on average a day by one person. If we combine all of these social media apps, this would mean that one person contributes to an average of 968 grams of carbon emission per day.
Over one year, doom scrolling on all these social media platforms by one person can lead to 353,466 grams of carbon. To put this into perspective, a flight from Los Angeles to San Francisco emits 153,000 grams of carbon per passenger. Now imagine 5.17 billion people using social media worldwide. This can have a lot of impact on our environment.
The above estimates were only from doon scrolling on social media. If we are receiving or sending mindless texts or emails, it also emits carbon. An average person in the USA sends 62 texts a day and each message emits 0.014 grams of carbon dioxide. This means that an average person has 310 grams of carbon emissions in just one year. It is the same as charging your phone 32 times or running your laptop for 10 hours. Sending work emails also emits carbon. 2028 grams of carbon are emitted by an individual annually by sending emails. This is equivalent to driving a gasoline powered car for five miles.
As Gen-Z use social media and the internet the most, they are the biggest source of having an impact on the environment. 18-24 years old send and receive an average of 124 texts a day. This makes an average 652.3 grams of carbon dioxide in a year. For 25-34 year olds, the number is almost half and they produce 382.2 grams of carbon dioxide a year. People of 55+ age emit 81.5 grams of carbon a year.
If consumers and businesses want to decrease their tech carbon footprints, they would need to take some measures for it. The first step is to optimize cloud usage to reduce waste. Individuals should reduce their everyday energy consumption and consider using a sustainable website. By adopting these practices, you can reduce carbon footprint in the environment and support a sustainable future.
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