Using influencers to encourage people to drink tap water

"Against the backdrop of climate change and dwindling water resources, supplying water to large metropolitan areas is becoming an increasingly challenging task for public authorities, who must find urgent solutions. One of the clearest and most viable ways forward is to incorporate recycled tap water into urban supply systems. However, despite being sustainable and safe, this option faces a major obstacle: consumers' instinctive, psychological resistance. Research led by Professor Inma Rodríguez-Ardura, coordinator"

"The research team understood that, while there is a real and urgent need to encourage the consumption of recycled tap water in areas threatened by the climate emergency, the main obstacle to uptake is not its safety, but how it is perceived. Although recycled tap water is safe for human consumption if it has gone through appropriate water treatment systems, when people know that the source is treated and purified waste water, for many their instinctive reaction"

Climate change and dwindling water resources make supplying large metropolitan areas increasingly difficult, creating urgency to diversify urban water supplies. Incorporating treated recycled tap water into municipal supply systems offers a safe, sustainable option but faces strong psychological resistance from consumers who react negatively when aware that water originates from purified wastewater. Influencers on platforms such as Instagram can counter this aversion by using sensory, emotional imagery to build positive mental images, which outperforms purely rational messaging in encouraging acceptance and sustainable consumption. Data from 800 Instagram users in Barcelona and Phoenix supports the effectiveness of emotionally driven influencer communication.

Read at Phys