Gökhan ALPTEKİN

Deniz TÜRKMEN

Halis Adnan ARSLANTAŞ

This research is one that addresses the social media usage levels and preferences of individuals, who reside in the Odunpazarı and Tepebaşı districts of Eskişehir Province which are considered to represent different generations, in terms of "continuity" and "competence" dimension. The research used a screening model. The screening model is a screening codification on the entire population or a group to be taken from it to come to a general conclusion about the population, in a population of many elements (Karasar, 2012). The study group comprises 877 people living in the city center. Data from the research was collected online using the "social media usage scale" developed by Deniz and Tutgun-Ünal (2019). The findings of the study are that (1) the generations use smartphones the most in accessing social media networks. (2) Generation X and Baby Boomer prefer to use Facebook the most, while generation Y and Z use Instagram the most. (3) The Baby Boomer, Y, and Z generations mostly like video and music content on social media, while Generation X mostly likes news content. (4) Generations use social media moderately in the dimensions of continuity and competence. (5) Generation Y and Z have continuity in social media usage and find themselves more competent in this regard compared to Baby Boomer, and Generation X. (6) Generation Z women represent gender that provides continuity in social media use compared to men who are in the same generation.

Keywords: Social media, Baby boomer, Generation X, Generation Y, Generation Z, Eskişehir