Transformation of Z-Generation in the context of globalization and place marketing: the case of Hungarian students

This paper summarizes the characteristics of students as the place marketing's potential target group, as they settle down in a settlement after their studies. The main goal is to get a better understanding of the characteristics of students who are members of the Z-generation. This generation's members have the characteristics which include the fast response, the continuous online presence, and the decreasing attention capacity. All of these are important to know for a settlement in order to attain and attract them, to settle down in a given location. The study highlights that the students are in the post-adolescent life stage, so they are in the life stage between the teen-ages and the adulthood. We cannot say that they are young teenagers, because they have independent decisions, but at the same time they are not completely independent, since in most cases they are financially dependent on their parents. The study describes the five steps of becoming independent, the detachment from the parental house (separation from the common roof, legal sense of detachment, own decision leading to detachment, subjective detachment, financial detachment), which highlights that in certain areas the detachment happened, but usually not all. The study also touches on the students' characteristics and the types of students' behavior. The Hungarian Youth Research results are showcased to help better describe the young people, their potential habits, leisure activities, and identity in a more transparent manner. It is important that the globalism is present in their lives. Its impact appears through innovations in many areas of their lives (culture, fashion, food, etc.) which entails that the culture is connected to both a given place and also apart from the place. Since the students are examined from the viewpoint of the place marketing, they also make up a part of another important for group, which is that of the potential local residents. The local residents' characteristics are determined by a number of factors (e.g.: composition of the household, age, income, educational background, coeval groups), which will be specifically defined regarding the students.