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

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.