Generation Z most often searches for college information on Instagram
Posted: on 28.7.2025
When choosing a university, applicants decide what they want to do in the future, followed by the attractiveness of the study programme and inspiration from friends or classmates.
It results from the survey Motivation in choosing a university, which was conducted by the Faculty of Mass Media Communication UCM in Trnava within the framework of the APVV project called Roadmap of a digital platform providing AI automation of decision-making processes in the field of communication strategy. On the contrary, the decision of parents, the recommendation of teachers at secondary school or the distance of the school from the place of residence were identified by the respondents as the least decisive factor in the choice of a university.
In the case of choosing a particular college, the decision is based on whether it is a field of study they want to pursue in the future, the second most important factor is the description of the curriculum, and the third most decisive factor is whether the college conducts admissions interviews.
Universities should work on networks
Most respondents search for information about a college or university on Instagram, followed by Facebook and YouTube. "As part of the survey, we also focused on the media behaviour of this generation. On social media, reels are the most followed, followed by stories and videos or photos. When asked if respondents have ever bought something based on an influencer recommendation, 50.9% of respondents said 'yes'. In terms of focus, these were influencers in the fashion industry, followed by entertainers, and in third place, respondents cited influencers in the fitness industry. On the contrary, science popularisers and sustainability content creators are the least followed," said Jana Galera Matúšová from the Faculty of Mass Media Communication at UCM, adding: "This is a surprising result given that sustainability is considered one of the primary areas of focus for Generation Z."
They get their information online
Among media, Generation Z follows social media most often, followed by podcasts and online portals. Traditional media such as newspapers (77%), magazines (73.2%) and radio (56.6%) were on the other side of the rankings. Young people spend more than an hour a day on social media, and prefer a length of 20-40 min for podcasts. Advertising can reach this generation most on social networks, followed by online portals and podcasts. The survey was conducted on a sample of 574 respondents between 2 April 2025 and 11 May 2025.
