How does being able to generate income from social media affect the career plans of generation z?

ABSTRACT: Social media and the internet, which have been integrated into the lives of the Z generation, born into the digital age, from childhood, have changed many habits of the Z generation, causing it to be a little different from other generations. The most striking of the changing habits and characteristics is that they are also shaping their business areas within the framework of social media. This research will examine how generation z, who can make money through social media, will plan their future professions. Also, the research aims to get an idea about how Turkey's future economy will change within the framework of making a profit from social media and this research is important as it lays the groundwork for the efforts to encourage the Z generation to develop the economy of Turkey by using social media.

Literature Review 

The Z generation was born into the digital age which is why, they are also called digital natives (Prensky, 2001). In addition, they generally dominate digital technologies more than other generations, and with this dominance, they have changed and continue to change many methods, especially in terms of careers. For example, in a study of students in Austria and Hungary in March 2020, it was observed that the job search methods of generation Z were different from those of older generations. As a result of the research, it was understood that the Z generation preferred online job search methods instead of the old job search methods and they made almost all their job applications over the Internet. As a result of the survey, 45.7% of the university students who participated in the survey stated that they preferred social media to look for a job, 21.4% preferred online job portals, 14.1% preferred companies' websites, and 10.2% preferred family and friends (Karacsony, Izsak, Vasa, 2020). Looking at the results, social media has a very large place in the career planning of the Z generation. Generation Z has not only changed their job search methods but also reshaped the language that they use within the framework of social media. For example, in an intergenerational comparison, it has been clarified that the focus of technological developments for the lives of individuals in the Y generation, however, individuals in the Z generation use social media technologies rather than technological developments. In addition, it has been understood that the Z generation individuals prefer social media instead of face-to-face relations and communication in terms of socialization. Also, the Z generation, who prefer to communicate on social media, has developed a language of its own. Generation z, who have a passion for speed in communication, adopted some abbreviations by removing vowels to communicate quickly and switched to imaginary communication methods such as subtraction (Horuztepe, 2018). Moreover, various project studies have been designed to prepare the z generation, which is thought to lead the determination, change, and shaping of the professions of the future, for the conditions of the future. One of these projects implemented is the Future Time Traveler project, which has been implemented in 7 European countries. The Future Time Traveler, which lasted 3 years between 2017 and 2020, introduced young generations to future professions and prepared an environment for the future mindset, through an innovative game-based virtual world environment, was implemented, since social media is highly effective in the career planning of generation z. The Future Time Traveler project, which introduces the professions of the future to the Z generation in a 3D virtual environment, aims to guide the Z generation in their future professions (Xenos, Christodoulopoulou, Mallas Garofalakis, 2019). In addition, it is thought that Generation Z will carry the digital world and businesses further in the future. Global employer brand company Universum surveyed to get an idea of what generation z thinks about their future careers, prospects, and fears, on an early 50,000 Generation Z in 46 countries. As a result of the survey, forty-seven percent stated that they thought of joining business life before university, and generation Z did not believe that universities would prepare them for the workplace (Merrett, Rebecca. 2015). As can be seen from the survey results because generation z can easily earn income from social media and no conditions are sought, they not only change their future professions but also have different opinions about their education. A survey was conducted in Turkey in 2018, aiming to measure which values the Z generation adopts in their entrepreneurial life. In line with the results obtained in the survey, it was observed that the Z generation individuals wanted to work in areas where they could show their skills, take a role as entrepreneurs, and enjoy, instead of working in the public sector with a fixed salary (İnce, 2018). Furthermore, in line with these quests and wishes of the Z generation, producing content on social media, displaying their skills from various social media applications such as Tik-Tok, YouTube, and Twitch, or being able to easily realize their entrepreneurial dreams through social media, and making money from social media, in general, are important in the career planning of the z generation. For İnstance, a survey was conducted in Romania in 2019 to measure the thoughts of Gen Z about personal branding. As a result of the survey, it was understood that the Z generation mostly tends to brand through social media. In addition, Z-generation individuals think that branding on social media (especially on Instagram) allows them to express themselves well and freely exhibit their talents (Vitelar, 2019).

Methodology

Purpose of the research

The research aims to measure how being able to make money from social media will shape the career plan of generation z and what type of business they care about, since the Z generation is the generation that dominates the digital age most, it is important to learn how making money from social media affects the future of generation Z. Also, this research is important to get an idea about future professions and how Turkey's future economy will be shaped by generation Z, and how they will also change and shape the future professions as the generation is born into the digital age.

Data Collection Methods

This research, which will measure how making money from social media shapes the career plan of Generation Z, will be conducted through an online survey, especially among high school seniors. The survey will consist of 4 parts the first part will consist of demographic questions such as age, gender, income status, and nationality, and the first part of the survey will allow the participants to be evaluated within certain groups.

The second part will measure how much time the students participating in the survey spend on social media and will be prepared with 4 scaled question types. In this section, the aim will be to measure and understand how much time students spend on social media and how much they care about social media in their lives as Generation Z. Understanding how much the respondents care about social media will help to measure how effective social media is in their future career ideals.

The third part will question how they spend their time on social media and whether they have earned income from social media so far. In addition, this section will help to question whether Generation Z generates income from social media and the importance of generating income by questioning whether they produce content on social media and if they produce content, for what purpose on which platform.

In the fourth and last part of the survey, it will be questioned about what students will prefer as their future profession. In addition, open-ended questions will be added in this section, and comparative questions such as "If you could generate income from social media, would you choose your dream job or make money from social media?" will be included. The comparative questions that will take place in the last part will be an important part especially to measure whether generation Z might prefer to generate income from social media and how generating income from social media can change their career plans.

Sampling

The online survey, which will consist of approximately 30 questions, will target high school seniors in Turkey by targeting a specific group with the convenience sampling method, which is a non-probability method. It will be held with approximately 100 high school senior students as they are the Z generation group closest to stepping into their future professional life, and it will be held with high school senior students in Turkey because the survey will help to get an idea about how Turkey's future economy and the career plans of generation Z will be shaped within the framework of the opportunity to earn income from social media.

As a second approach, what kind of career plan the z generation will follow in the future and how generating income from social media shapes their future career plans can also be examined with the participant observation method, but since more time will be spent observing compared to the survey method and the observer may not be able to look objectively, the margin of error is higher than the survey in this study. That is why the proposed survey study is the most accurate and appropriate method for this research question.

Limits and Strengths

Limits

There may be a margin of error in the research if it is not ensured that the participants in the survey study gave 100% correct answers.

In addition, since there are too many questions and open-ended questions that will be included in the survey, it will take time to answer and will be a challenging survey. Therefore, people may give evasive answers and likewise, there might be a margin of error in the study.

Strengths

Since it is a written research method, users can answer thoughtfully and then can correct their wrong answers, which reduces the margin of error in the research.

Since it is easier to reach the desired target audience with the online survey method than with traditional methods, the desired audience is reached and the margin of error in the research decreases.

In addition, since the survey research provides the opportunity to compare in the reporting and analysis process, a more comprehensive future forecast can be made by comparing the Z generation within itself, which makes the research much more strength.

That is why, the online survey research method and the non-probability convenience sampling suggested in investigating the question of how the Z generation's ability to make money from social media will shape their future careers, will provide a quicker and more accurate reach to the demographic audience sought, and support the acquisition of more accurate predictions by providing the opportunity to compare the answers given among the other methods. and this method will support the accuracy of the research.