Date of Graduation

5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts in Advertising and Public Relations

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Journalism

Advisor/Mentor

Reed, Joel

Committee Member

Hu, Sis

Second Committee Member

Spialek, Matthew

Third Committee Member

Warren, Ron

Abstract

The goal of this research is to examine the relationship between influencers, party affiliation, and the desire for political disclosure. A desire for political disclosure is the preference for social media influencers to convey their political opinions to their audience to achieve connectedness. To research this, I examined the social media use of Generation Z students, as well as the uses and gratifications of their social media use. Two hundred and sixty-five students completed a Qualtrics survey assessing these variables. Results demonstrated that Gen Z feels indifferent about knowing the political views of the influencers that they follow. However, Democratic respondents showed higher desire for disclosure than Republican respondents. The results also showed that Gen Z uses social media platforms such as Instagram, TikTok, and Snapchat to feel connected to others. College students in the sample use these platforms to build relationships with people, but they are not heavily invested in the political preferences of the social media influencers that they follow.

Keywords

Social Media Influencers; Politics; Demand

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