Español

Abstract

The Ecuadorian Amazon has historically been portrayed as a territory of exceptional biodiversity and cultural richness, while simultaneously being framed as a strategic space for economic development through oil extraction. These tensions intensified in the context of the Popular Consultation of August 2023, during which citizens voted on the continuity of extractive activities in the Yasuní ITT block. The present study seeks to analyze the perceptions of university students in Ibarra regarding the Ecuadorian Amazon and to examine the influence of traditional mass media and the social network TikTok on the formation of these perceptions and on voting decisions. From a quantitative perspective, a structured survey was administered to a sample of 710 students from two higher education institutions —one public and one private. Findings indicate that the Amazon is predominantly perceived as a space of biodiversity, although representations associated with economic development and resource exploitation remain present. Furthermore, differences were identified in media framing: whereas traditional outlets tend to reinforce narratives aligned with extractivism and economic progress, TikTok emerges as a platform for youth-driven environmental activism with a strong orientation toward conservation. Nevertheless, the influence of this digital platform on voting behavior appears to be moderate. The study concludes that the digital public sphere is reshaping processes of meaning-making concerning socio-environmental conflicts, although it has not entirely displaced the influence of traditional media discourses.