Preferred Name
Bethany Rae Perryman
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-No Derivative Works 4.0 International License.
ORCID
https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4501-1964
Date of Graduation
5-11-2023
Semester of Graduation
Spring
Degree Name
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
School of Communication Studies
Second Advisor
Chang Wan Woo
Third Advisor
Melissa Alemán
Abstract
Democracy is a concept, process, and practice, and American democracy is a specific flavor of it. Public opinion is influenced and shaped by mass media, and messages about American democracy emerge in a web of powers and among power dynamics. These messages include the actions and relationships of the American civic system with its citizenry and the world. Generation Z is a socially, culturally, economically, and politically unique population in American life, who form their own perceptions and attitudes about American democracy based on their experiences and with the ecosystem of communication and interaction they have with mass media messages. This paper quantifies and measures organization-public relationships outcomes, situational theory of publics’ public types, and mass media messaging to understand Gen Z’s attitudes and perceptions about American democracy. Discussion of Gen Z’s maturity of responses regarding American democracy, limitations, and avenues for further research are considered.
Included in
American Politics Commons, Critical and Cultural Studies Commons, Mass Communication Commons, Other Communication Commons, Public Relations and Advertising Commons, Social Influence and Political Communication Commons
