Abstract:

Nowadays, consumers have a greater variety of digital media options than ever. Researchers have identified that the younger generation in Romania are staring to use more and more new media and has a better understanding on how to use it better than their parents, compared to other European countries. The Z generation have a better chance of being ‘early adopters’ when it comes to digital media. In the digital era the use of new media has been increasing constantly in the past years in post-communist Romania, having a significant impact among the younger generation both form a cultural and social point of view. Considering the current digital media consumption worldwide evolution, dynamics and trends of the online industry, the research proposed was conducted in order to better understand the actual digital consumption of the young people in Romania. The shift from traditional forms of media towards digital media is putting a mark on the undergraduate students in Romania that are members of the Z generation, influencing their behaviour and information consumption, since digital content can be easily found online. Young people are migrating to digital media in favour of classical forms of media, consuming all types of content in the online environment mainly due to time effectiveness and easy access to various content favoured by the Internet penetration rate and highspeed Internet in Romania. Digital content and products have a high volatility and consumers expect new content or products very often. The study proposed aims to analyse the consumption of digital products and services such as social media networks, digital gadgets such as smartphones amongst the “Z” generation undergraduate students in Romania. The study conducted uses a quantitative research method, the sample being selected form urban areas in Romania. The main objective of the research is to identify what types of digital media undergraduate students are currently using in order to better communicate relevant educational messages to them.

Keywords:

Digital media, digital consumption, z generation, quantitative analysis, digital products.