Influence of facebook commercial communications on generation z's attitudes in South Africa

Abstract

The tremendous proliferation of social media (such as Facebook) has provided digital information and communications technology (ICT) platforms that enable Generation Z to instantaneously and uninterruptedly interactive one another and the rest of the globe. The primary aim of this research is to investigate the influence of Facebook commercial communications (FCC) on the hierarchy-of-effects model attitude stages amongst Generation Z, and to establish whether several usage (access, usage length, log-on rate, log-on duration and profile update incidence) and demographic (gender, age and population group) factors had an effect on the attitudinal responses. A survey was used to sample over 6 200 teenagers through structured self-administered questionnaires in South Africa (SA). A generalised linear model was utilised for the data analysis. This paper determined that FCC had a positive effect on cognitive, affective and behavioural attitudes amid South African adolescents, which is in correlation with the communications effects pyramid model. This study also makes a notable contribution to attitudinal discourse in emerging nations, where there is a paucity of research on FCC. South African organisations should consider implementing and/or adapting their FCC strategies based on the varying impact of usage and demographic factors, which were disclosed in this study, when targeting the increasingly profitable and technologically savvy, but unpredictable Generation Z.