Social media distrust and turn to artificial intelligence among generation Z: a qualitative model linking digital minimalism and financial discipline with social policy recommendations

TL;DR

This study explores how Gen Z in Turkey deals with distrust in social media by adopting AI tools, digital minimalism, and financial discipline, offering policy recommendations for better tech and financial practices.

Contribution

A novel qualitative model linking social media distrust, digital minimalism, and AI adoption among Gen Z with actionable policy insights.

Findings

70.4% of participants expressed strong confidence in AI-generated recommendations due to perceived impartiality.

59.3% of participants practice digital minimalism to reduce cognitive overload from social media.

Only 37.0% of participants use formal budgeting tools despite high economic uncertainty.

Abstract

This study examines how Generation Z navigates social media distrust and turns to artificial intelligence (AI) tools within the broader contexts of digital minimalism and financial discipline. By developing a qualitative thematic model, we aim to elucidate the motivations, behaviors, and interrelations among these phenomena and derive actionable social policy recommendations.

A semi-structured interview process was conducted with 27 Turkish Gen Z participants (ages 08–28), who were recruited via university mailing lists and social media groups. The interview guide combined demographic and socioeconomic items, fixed-response usage metrics (platform preferences, screen time), and open-ended prompts on experiences with misinformation, minimalist practices, budgeting behaviors, and AI adoption. Data were exported to NVivo 12 and analyzed using a six-phase thematic analysis framework (familiarization, coding, theme development, review, definition, and reporting). Inter-coder reliability (Cohen’s κ = 0.78) and member-checking procedures ensured analytic rigor.

Four primary themes emerged: (1) pervasive skepticism toward social media information, with only 11.1% expressing high trust; (2) widespread adoption of digital minimalism practices by 59.3% of Participants to mitigate cognitive overload; (3) mixed engagement with formal budgeting tools, as only 37.0% employ systematic expense tracking despite high economic uncertainty; and (4) strong confidence in AI-generated recommendations by 70.4%, highlighting AI’s perceived impartiality and data-driven value. These domains intersect dynamically: distrust of social feeds often co-occurs with minimalist routines and AI reliance, while reduced screen time supports clearer financial decision making.

Generation Z demonstrates a proactive stance toward reclaiming agency in digital and economic spheres by combining minimalism, selective use of financial-tech tools, and emerging AI platforms. To support balanced technology engagement and financial resilience, stakeholders should integrate media-literacy education, promote transparent algorithmic governance, and design accessible, ethically aligned AI-and fintech solutions.

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