The regulatory effect of social media on the relationship between generation Z's political participation level and voting behavior

When both the recent literature and social dynamics are examined, it is possible to see that social media has taken a central place in our lives. On the other hand, it is also seen that Generation Z individuals, who are very much on the agenda, are the subject of research in many different social sciences. Although the first activity that comes to mind with the concept of political participation is voting, it would not be wrong to say that it is not possible to reduce political participation behavior to voting in the age we have come. With the concept of political participation, it is seen that all actions from voters going to the polls to vote, supporting and influencing the party or candidate that appeals to them, or simply being a party that they are interested in are tried to be explained. In the current century, political participation has had to evolve with technological developments and the development of social networks. In today's research, political parties and leaders have started to use social media more professionally and effectively with the prediction that social media applications will affect the political tendencies of citizens. This study aims to examine the transformation of political participation practices in the digitalized world, especially through the forms of political participation of Generation Z individuals through social media. Political participation, which is traditionally identified with voting behavior, emerges in different forms with the influence of social media platforms and points to new forms of participatory democracy. In this context, the study analyzes the effects of covert participation, counter-participation, follower participation and expressive participation on the voting behavior of Generation Z individuals on social media. At the same time, the moderating role of the frequency of social media use on these relationships was also examined. The findings of the study show that all four dimensions of political participation are significantly and positively related to voting behavior. Influential engagement (β = .358, p < .001) was found to be the factor that most strongly influenced voting behavior through the individual's production of original content and active participation in political debates on social media. The dimensions of latent engagement (β = .241), oppositional engagement (β = .194) and follower engagement (β = .279) were also found to be significant, suggesting that passive or indirect The moderating effect of the frequency of social media use was also tested. The results revealed that social media significantly and positively strengthened only the relationship between expressive participation and voting behavior (β = .658, p < .001). On the other hand, the frequency of social media use did not create a significant change on the relationships between latent and follower participation and voting behavior, while it showed a negative direction of influence on the oppositional participation dimension, contrary to expectations. These results show that Generation Z's political participation behavior has diversified on the axis of social media, is not limited to traditional practices such as voting, and especially interactive and creative forms of participation have a stronger influence on voter decisions. Therefore, it is concluded that a new assessment of the nature of political participation is required and that digital citizenship shaped through social media plays a central role in contemporary political processes. Keywords: Generation Z, Political Participation, Social Media, Voting Behavior