Evaluation of Generation Z and Influencer Interaction in the Scope of Religious and Cultural Values

Feyza Dalaylı

Article Details

Evaluation of Generation Z and Influencer Interaction in the Scope of Religious and Cultural Values

Authors:

Feyza Dalaylı

Publisher:

Sivas Cumhuriyet University

Main Topics:

Din Sosyolojisi

Journal:

Cumhuriyet İlahiyat Dergisi Vol.27 Issue 3, pp.769-785

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

12/2023

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001305170

pISSN:

2528-9861

Keywords:

Abstract:

 Social media, where popular culture is created and strengthened, religious issues are discussed and people openly share their preferences, is a tool that directly affects young people today. Therefore, Generation Z is under the influence of influencers on social media tools more than family, values, religion and cultural education during adolescence. In light of all this information, the purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of intense influencer interaction created by Generation Z through social media tools on religious and cultural values. The importance of this research is to deepen the social understanding of the impact of Generation Z and influencer interaction on religious and cultural values and to develop a perspective on the subject. With the basic judgment that young people are the next generation, this issue is seen as important in terms of shaping the future. The method of the research is in-depth interview. In-depth interviews were conducted and data was collected with 15 Generation Z members who actively use social media and follow influencers. In-depth interviews were conducted in a semi-structured format. Within the scope of the study, 8 basic questions were determined and it was aimed to expand the answers by asking related questions depending on the answers given to these questions. These people were selected by simple random sampling and all of them are undergraduate university students. Gender and socio-economic status are not a means of discrimination within the scope of this research. However, 9 of the 15 people are female and 6 are male. Although all students reside in different provinces, they all continue their education at universities in Istanbul. Although socio-economic status was not prioritized in the study, it was deemed necessary for the individual to have a smart mobile phone and to interact with influencers by actively using social media tools. According to the results of the research, interviewees clearly stated that influencers opinions are important to them. No significant differences based on gender were detected. The main gender-based difference here is the diversification and change of influencers followed. It is thought that social tastes and tastes based on gender are effective here. Interviewers also revealed that influencers share posts that are far from religious and cultural values. In particular, following non-Turkish influencers of this age group causes them to become alienated from their own culture and religion and admire foreign religions and cultures. As a result of all the interviews, it is possible to say that Generation Z, who follows influencers and actively uses social media, moves away from religious and cultural values and approaches their lives within the framework of more non-religious and popular culture elements. In general, when all the results are evaluated, individuals during the youth period, with the influence of social media and influencers, tend to remove religious elements from their lives and adopt a secular lifestyle by taking it as an example.

 Social media, where popular culture is created and strengthened, religious issues are discussed and people openly share their preferences, is a tool that directly affects young people today. Therefore, Generation Z is under the influence of influencers on social media tools more than family, values, religion and cultural education during adolescence. In light of all this information, the purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of intense influencer interaction created by Generation Z through social media tools on religious and cultural values. The importance of this research is to deepen the social understanding of the impact of Generation Z and influencer interaction on religious and cultural values and to develop a perspective on the subject. With the basic judgment that young people are the next generation, this issue is seen as important in terms of shaping the future. The method of the research is in-depth interview. In-depth interviews were conducted and data was collected with 15 Generation Z members who actively use social media and follow influencers. In-depth interviews were conducted in a semi-structured format. Within the scope of the study, 8 basic questions were determined and it was aimed to expand the answers by asking related questions depending on the answers given to these questions. These people were selected by simple random sampling and all of them are undergraduate university students. Gender and socio-economic status are not a means of discrimination within the scope of this research. However, 9 of the 15 people are female and 6 are male. Although all students reside in different provinces, they all continue their education at universities in Istanbul. Although socio-economic status was not prioritized in the study, it was deemed necessary for the individual to have a smart mobile phone and to interact with influencers by actively using social media tools. According to the results of the research, interviewees clearly stated that influencers opinions are important to them. No significant differences based on gender were detected. The main gender-based difference here is the diversification and change of influencers followed. It is thought that social tastes and tastes based on gender are effective here. Interviewers also revealed that influencers share posts that are far from religious and cultural values. In particular, following non-Turkish influencers of this age group causes them to become alienated from their own culture and religion and admire foreign religions and cultures. As a result of all the interviews, it is possible to say that Generation Z, who follows influencers and actively uses social media, moves away from religious and cultural values and approaches their lives within the framework of more non-religious and popular culture elements. In general, when all the results are evaluated, individuals during the youth period, with the influence of social media and influencers, tend to remove religious elements from their lives and adopt a secular lifestyle by taking it as an example.

 Social media, where popular culture is created and strengthened, religious issues are discussed and people openly share their preferences, is a tool that directly affects young people today. Therefore, Generation Z is under the influence of influencers on social media tools more than family, values, religion and cultural education during adolescence. In light of all this information, the purpose of this research is to investigate the effects of intense influencer interaction created by Generation Z through social media tools on religious and cultural values. The importance of this research is to deepen the social understanding of the impact of Generation Z and influencer interaction on religious and cultural values and to develop a perspective on the subject. With the basic judgment that young people are the next generation, this issue is seen as important in terms of shaping the future. The method of the research is in-depth interview. In-depth interviews were conducted and data was collected with 15 Generation Z members who actively use social media and follow influencers. In-depth interviews were conducted in a semi-structured format. Within the scope of the study, 8 basic questions were determined and it was aimed to expand the answers by asking related questions depending on the answers given to these questions. These people were selected by simple random sampling and all of them are undergraduate university students. Gender and socio-economic status are not a means of discrimination within the scope of this research. However, 9 of the 15 people are female and 6 are male. Although all students reside in different provinces, they all continue their education at universities in Istanbul. Although socio-economic status was not prioritized in the study, it was deemed necessary for the individual to have a smart mobile phone and to interact with influencers by actively using social media tools. According to the results of the research, interviewees clearly stated that influencers opinions are important to them. No significant differences based on gender were detected. The main gender-based difference here is the diversification and change of influencers followed. It is thought that social tastes and tastes based on gender are effective here. Interviewers also revealed that influencers share posts that are far from religious and cultural values. In particular, following non-Turkish influencers of this age group causes them to become alienated from their own culture and religion and admire foreign religions and cultures. As a result of all the interviews, it is possible to say that Generation Z, who follows influencers and actively uses social media, moves away from religious and cultural values and approaches their lives within the framework of more non-religious and popular culture elements. In general, when all the results are evaluated, individuals during the youth period, with the influence of social media and influencers, tend to remove religious elements from their lives and adopt a secular lifestyle by taking it as an example.

 Popüler kültürün oluşturulup güçlendirildiği, dini konuların konuşulduğu ve insanların açık bir şekilde tercihlerini paylaştıkları sosyal medya bugün gençleri doğrudan etkileyen bir araçtır. Dolayısıyla Z kuşağı ergenlik döneminde en fazla aile, değer, din ve kültürel eğitimden daha fazla sosyal medya araçlarındaki influencer etkisi altındadır. Bütün bu bilgiler ışığında; bu araştırmanın amacı, Z kuşağının sosyal medya araçları aracılığıyla oluşturduğu yoğun influencer etkileşiminin dini ve kültürel değerlere olan etkilerini araştırmaktır. Bu araştırmanın önemi, Z Kuşağı ile infleuncer etkileşiminin dini ve kültürel değerlere olan etkisine ilişkin toplumsal anlayışı derinleştirme ve konuya ilişkin bir bakış açısı geliştirilmesinin sağlanmasıdır. Gençlerin gelecek nesiller olduğu temel yargısıyla bu konu geleceğin biçimlendirilmesi açısından önemli görülmektedir. Araştırmanın yöntemi derinlemesine görüşmedir. Sosyal medyayı aktif kullanan ve influencer takip eden 15 Z kuşağı mensubu ile derinlemesine görüşmeler yapılmış ve veri toplanmıştır. Derinlemesine görüşmeler yarı-yapılandırılmış biçimde gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışma kapsamında 8 temel soru belirlenmiş ve bu sorulara verilen yanıtlara bağlı olarak ilişkili sorular sorularak yanıtların genişletilmesi hedeflenmiştir. Bu kişiler basit tesadüfi örneklem yöntemi kullanılarak seçilmiş olup hepsi lisans düzeyinde üniversite öğrencisidir. Cinsiyet ve sosyo-ekonomik durum bu araştırma kapsamında bir ayırt etme aracı değildir. Ancak 15 kişinin 9u kadın ve 6 tanesi de erkeklerden oluşmaktadır. Tüm öğrenciler farklı illerde ikamet etmesine karşın hepsi İstanbuldaki üniversitelerde öğrenimlerini sürdürmektedir. Çalışmada sosyo-ekonomik durum öncelenmemekle beraber bireyin bir akıllı cep telefonuna sahip olması ve sosyal medya araçlarını aktif kullanarak influencerlar ile etkileşim içerisinde olması gerekli görülmüştür. Araştırmanın sonuçlarına göre; bu yaş grubundaki görüşmeciler açık bir şekilde influencerların görüşlerinin kendileri için önemli olduğunu belirtmiştir. Araştırma kapsamında cinsiyet ayırt edici bir unsur olmamasına karşın cinsiyet dayalı öne çıkan bir farklılık saptanmamıştır. Buradaki cinsiyete dayalı en temel farklılık takip edilen influencerların çeşitlenmesi ve değişmesidir. Cinsiyete dayalı sosyal beğeni ve zevklerin burada etkili olduğu düşünülmektedir. Görüşmeciler influencerların dini ve kültürel değerlere uzak paylaşımlarda bulunduklarını da ortaya koymuşlardır. Özellikle bu yaş grubunun Türk olmayan influencerları takip etmeleri de onların kendi kültürleri ve dinlerine yabancılaşarak yabancı din ve kültürlere hayranlık duymasına neden olmaktadır. Bütün görüşmelerin sonucunda, influencer takip eden ve sosyal medyayı aktif kullanan Z kuşağının dini ve kültürel değerlerden uzaklaşarak yaşamlarını daha din dışı ve popüler kültür öğeleri çerçevesinde yaklaştıklarını söylemek mümkündür. Genel olarak tüm sonuçlar değerlendirildiğinde, sosyal medya ve infleuncer etkisiyle gençlik döneminde bireyler dini öğeleri yaşamından uzaklaştırarak seküler bir yaşam tarzını örnek alarak benimseme yaklaşımı göstermektedir.

Article Details

Evaluation of Generation Z and Influencer Interaction in the Scope of Religious and Cultural Values

Authors:

Feyza Dalaylı

Publisher:

Sivas Cumhuriyet University

Main Topics:

Din Sosyolojisi

Journal:

Cumhuriyet İlahiyat Dergisi Vol.27 Issue 3, pp.769-785

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

12/2023

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001305170

pISSN:

2528-9861

Religion Sociology

Social media

Generation Z

Influencer

In-depth interviewDin sosyolojisi

Sosyal Medya

Z Kuşağı

Influencer

Derinlemesine görüşme

Issues

Article Details

Authors: Feyza Dalaylı

Publisher: Sivas Cumhuriyet University

Main Topics: Din Sosyolojisi

Journal: Cumhuriyet İlahiyat Dergisi Vol.27 Issue 3, pp.769-785

Document Type: Article

Publication Date: 12/2023

Document Language: English

Document ID (Org No.): 2001305170

pISSN: 2528-9861

Issues

Authors:

Feyza Dalaylı

Publisher:

Sivas Cumhuriyet University

Main Topics:

Din Sosyolojisi

Journal:

Cumhuriyet İlahiyat Dergisi Vol.27 Issue 3, pp.769-785

Document Type:

Article

Publication Date:

12/2023

Document Language:

English

Document ID (Org No.):

2001305170

pISSN:

2528-9861