Understanding teen attitudes towards energy consumption

Previous research has tended to focus on adults or households as a whole when investigating attitudes and behaviours towards energy use. This study focussed on teenagers, ‘the adults of tomorrow’, and their attitudes towards energy consumption. 114 Teenagers aged 10–19 years took part and multiple data collection methods were used to investigate this topic including: diaries, stories and focus groups. Data was analysed using thematic analysis. Themes that emerged from the data were: energy use, impact of energy use, sources of information, location, barriers to saving energy and green teens. This paper discusses the findings in relation to future research and reflects on the methods used.

► We explore teenagers' attitudes and behaviours towards energy use.
► Multiple qualitative data collection methods were used.
► Themes are described related to teenagers attitudes towards energy use.