A study conducted by Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication and Marmara University Atatürk Faculty of Education to understand generations in the age of social media, in which 516 people participated, revealed the differences between generations. Those in middle age and above, who have adapted to the social media age, like news content the most on social media. According to the study, the Baby Boomer generation born between 1946-1964 uses Facebook, while Generation X (born between 1965-1979) and Generation Y (born between 1980-1999) prefer to use Instagram the most.
A study conducted by Dr. Aylin Tutgun Ünal, Faculty Member of Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication, Department of New Media and Journalism, and Assoc. Prof. Dr. Levent Deniz, Faculty Member of Marmara University Atatürk Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Sciences, with the participation of 516 people, revealed the differences in social media use between generations.
Aylin Tutgun Ünal, Assistant Professor at Üsküdar University Faculty of Communication, Department of New Media and Journalism, said that in the research they conducted with the "Social Media Usage Scale" (SMKÖ), one of a series of scales they developed to understand generations in the social media age, it was revealed that Baby Boomer, X, Y and Z generations, consisting of 516 people, found themselves moderately competent in their use of social media.
Generation Y found themselves the most competent
Looking at the differentiation of the social media usage levels of generations, Ünal stated that the generation that finds itself the most competent is the Y generation and said the following: "Generation Y, which was born between 1980-1999 and made a difference in the total scale, was found to provide more continuity in social media and to find themselves more competent than Generation Z. In the gender-oriented examinations, a difference was found in Generation Z born in 2000 and later. Accordingly, Generation Z men consider themselves more competent in social media use than women of the same generation. Looking at the duration of daily social media use, Generation Z individuals who use social media more than three hours a day provide more continuity in their social media use and find themselves more competent than those who use social media less.
Generation Z at risk of social media addiction
After the fourth hour, social media usage levels do not change. On the other hand, as one of the determinants of internet addiction, the time spent exceeding 4 hours indicates that the person is at risk for addiction. In the study, 21% of Generation Z stated that they use social media for 4 hours or more a day. This shows that Generation Z is at risk for social media addiction. However, despite being at risk, this 21% group shows continuity in social media use and their social media competencies are gradually increasing. In the same study, it was concluded that Generation Z used Instagram and YouTube applications the most and 84% of them liked and shared video and music content."
Baby Boomers have adapted to the social media age
Prof. Dr. Aylin Tutgun Ünal noted that the Baby Boomer generation, born between 1946 and 1964, were at an intermediate level of social media use, indicating that they kept up with the social media age at an intermediate level. Ünal said, "In the Baby Boomer generation, who stated that they use social media for 1-3 hours a day, 6% of the Baby Boomers used social media for 4-6 hours. This situation actually shows that social media networks have become a common meeting point between generations."
Baby Boomers use Facebook, Millennials and Generation Z use Instagram
Prof. Dr. Aylin Tutgun Ünal, Faculty Member Aylin Tutgun Ünal said that in the research where social media preferences were also questioned, almost half of the Baby Boomer generation (41%) stated that they prefer Facebook in the first place, while Facebook usage in Generation Z was 3%. He stated that both Generation Y and Generation Z use Instagram in the first place. Ünal said, "The fact that Generation Z also has a high rate of YouTube usage shows that young people get bored with Facebook and escape to applications where photo and video sharing is intense. Thus, it is a handicap that social media networks are a common meeting point for Baby Boomers and Generation Z. However, the fact that almost half of the Baby Boomer generation states that they like video and music content on social media, especially on Facebook, creates a common interest with Generation Z. This shows that these two generations can be found more in common social media applications over time."
Baby Boomers like current news and political content
Stating that current news is one of the most favorite content of the Baby Boomer generation on social media, Ünal said, "The rate of liking current news on social media is over 50% in the Baby Boomer generation and exceeds 50% in the X generation and the Y generation. In Generation Z, this rate is 22%. Although the rate of following current news is low in Generation Z, the rate of liking sports content was found to be close to 50%. The rate of the Baby Boomer generation who stated that they liked sports content was 20%. These results again show that there is a Baby Boomer audience that has a common interest with Generation Z." Prof. Dr. Aylin Tutgun Ünal said, "Finally, another interesting result was that while the Baby Boomer generation liked political content on social media at a rate of 40%, this rate was 3.7% in Generation Z. It turned out that Generation Z is not interested in political content on social media."
Time spent on social media is also different
Prof. Dr. Aylin Tutgun Ünal said, "If we take Generation X, born between 1965 and 1979, and the older Baby Boomer generation as middle age, we are talking about a segment that was not born with technology but later adapted to it." Prof. Dr. Aylin Tutgun Ünal said, "The fact that their social media use is at an intermediate level in the research shows that these generations are adapting. It is not evident that they feel competent in their use of social media as in the Y and Z generations. According to the research results obtained for the X and Baby Boomer generations, daily social media usage times are close to each other. Both generations use social media 1-3 hours a day. Again for both generations, those who state that they use social media 4-6 hours a day are between 6% and 6%. At the same rates, Y and Z generations spend more than 7 hours a day on social media, while X and Baby Boomer generations spend more than 6 hours a day."
Marmara University Atatürk Faculty of Education, Department of Educational Sciences Faculty Member Assoc. Prof. Dr. Levent Deniz said, "First of all, in this study, which we started for generations, we set out to create a scale where we can melt the values and behaviors of all generations that we can reach in a pot and gather them together. However, it was not possible for both the behaviors related to the use of social media and the values related to business life, family life and friendship relations to emerge as a single scale as a result of the development work we did. However, as we continued our studies, we were able to develop three independent scales as a result of the scale development studies we carried out by classifying the items in different structures from the item pool we had. We named these scales as the Social Media Use Scale, the Work Life Scale and the Acceptance of Differences Scale. The fact that each scale has subscales enabled us to address these emerging structures with different components."
Social Media Use Scale
The first four items measure the continuity dimension and the other four items measure the competence dimension. The total scale can be scored between 8 and 40 points. A high score indicates a high level of social media use.
(1: Not at all suitable for me, 2: Somewhat suitable for me, 3: Moderately suitable for me, 4: Very suitable for me, 5: Completely suitable for me)
1. I feel incomplete and restless when I am away from my smartphone.
2. I always check my social media accounts before going to sleep and immediately after waking up.
3. I am always online/active with my mobile devices (tablet, phone, etc.).
4. I do not disconnect from social media while I am reading or working.
5. I can do all my work using social media and the internet.
6. I can manage all my daily activities (talking, gaming, banking, shopping, etc.) through social media.
7. I actively use social media in all areas of my life.
8. I can use a tablet, smartphone, etc. and do other tasks at the same time.