From Digital Integration to Digital Normalization: Generational Trends in Students’ Perception of Social Media Impact (2016–2022)

This study examines how students perceive the influence of social media on everyday life across a seven-year period (2016–2022), focusing on two domains: aesthetic–consumer choices and lifestyle-related orientations. The research uses a cross-sectional design with repeated annual cohorts (N = 589) from social sciences programs, applying a questionnaire adapted from an existing instrument measuring the perceived influence of social media on consumer choices and lifestyle-related orientations. Factor analysis revealed a stable two-factor structure, while trend analysis showed that both dimensions follow a gradual and moderate upward trajectory. The influence on lifestyle is consistently higher than on aesthetic–consumer decisions, which indicates that students interpret digital content primarily through everyday routines and values rather than market-driven cues. The temporary stabilization of scores during the pandemic aligns with recent findings on digital fatigue, where increased exposure does not automatically increase perceived impact. In this context, the results suggest a gradual transition from digital integration toward digital normalization, understood as the process through which social media become a stable and taken-for-granted part of everyday student life. These findings contribute to understanding long-term patterns of students’ digital practices, particularly the ways in which social media become stabilized and embedded in everyday student life.