What Does Generation Z Feel and Expect? Political Sentiments and Future Perception of Young People in Türkiye

Öz

This study aims to reveal what Generation Z think and feel about the future of society and their own futures, as well as the emotions they expect in politics and political communication. For this purpose, semi-structured face-to-face interviews were conducted with 355 youth in Generation Z, who held diverse political views and educational levels, across 14 cities in seven regions of Türkiye. According to the data obtained, it was observed that the youth were generally pessimistic about the future of society, yet they expressed hopefulness in other areas. The third response about the future of humanity was uncertainty. The youth provided answers about their future, mainly concerning their professions and career plans. The following reactions were about being hopeful and uncertain about their future. The youth in the study expect to feel the most trust in politics and political communication. This was followed by answers emphasizing hope, national feelings, the importance of not appealing to emotions, and happiness. It is observed that the youth avoid emotions that contain negativity in politics. The youth who say that emotions should not be appealed to in politics emphasize that politics should be a rational field based on the studies conducted.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Politics
• Political Communication
• Generation Z
• Emotions
• Youth

Z Kuşağı Ne Hisseder ve Ne Bekler? Türkiye’de Gençlerin Siyasal Duyguları ve Gelecek Algısı

Öz

Bu çalışmanın amacı Z kuşağı içinde yer alan gençlerin toplumun geleceği ve kendi gelecekleri hakkında ne düşündüklerinin ve hissettiklerinin, siyasette ve siyasal iletişimde hangi duyguları beklediklerinin ortaya konulmasıdır. Bu amaç doğrultusunda Türkiye’nin yedi bölgesinden 14 şehirde Z kuşağında bulunan farklı siyasi görüşlere ve eğitim düzeylerine sahip 355 gençle yarı yapılandırılmış yüz yüze görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Elde edilen verilere göre gençlerin toplumun geleceği konusunda genellikle karamsar oldukları görülmüştür. Ancak karamsarlığı takiben gençler en çok umut taşıyor olmaktan söz etmişlerdir. Toplumun geleceği konusundaki üçüncü yanıt ise belirsizlik olmuştur. Gençler kendi gelecekleri hakkında daha çok mesleklerine ve kariyer planlarına ilişkin yanıtlar vermişlerdir. Ardından gelen yanıtlar ise gelecekleri hakkında umutlu olmaları ve geleceklerindeki belirsizler üzerine olmuştur. Çalışmada yer alan gençler siyasette ve siyasal iletişimde en çok güven duygusunu beklemektedir. Ardından umut, milli duygular, duygulara hitap edilmemeli ve mutluluk yanıtları gelmektedir. Gençlerin siyasette olumsuzluk barındıran duygulardan kaçındığı görülmektedir. Siyasette duygulara hitap edilmemeli diyen gençler ise siyasetin yapılan çalışmalara dayalı rasyonel bir alan olması gerektiğine vurgu yapmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Siyaset
• Siyasal İletişim
• Z Kuşağı
• Duygular
• Gençler

Kaynakça

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