The impact of generation Z on political participation

The concept of politics is one of the primary elements that constitute a country's agenda. That's why political issues are frequently discussed among the public. Generation Z, which is growing up day by day, is also involved in and influencing politics. Therefore, the purpose of this research is to determine the effects of Generation Z on political participation. Another aim of the research is to determine to what extent Generation Z individuals take political socialization elements into account in shaping their thoughts about politics. For these purposes, quantitative research method was used in the research. The population of the research consists of individuals who were born between 1995-2000, defined as Generation Z, and have completed the 18-year-old voting age specified by the Republic of Turkey. According to TÜİK (2020) data, the number of Generation Z individuals who make up this age range in Turkey is over 13 million. In this regard, it was deemed appropriate to administer a survey to 384 people. Normality test and ANOVA were applied to the data obtained. It has been concluded that individuals belonging to Generation Z differ according to their demographic characteristics when entering politics, their political judgments, their consideration of political socialization, the factors they pay attention to when voting, and the activities they participate in. The results of the research show that the level of participation in political judgments, the level of considering political socialization tools, the factors that are important when voting for a political party or candidate, and the level of participation in political activities vary significantly according to education and income levels. Keywords: Political Participation, Generation Z, Voting Behavior, Politics