Gen Z Transitions to University: A Preliminary Study on Everyday Information-Seeking Practices

Generation Zs (Gen Zs), characterized as digital natives, approach their university journey with distinct information practices shaped by their reliance on everyday digital technologies. Yet, studies on howGen Zs navigate the transition to university remain scant. This exploratory study aims to understand how everyday information-seeking practices help Gen Zs during this transition. We conducted focus group discussions with 42 Gen Z undergraduates from both STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, andMathematics) and non-STEM academic disciplines to understand the challenges they faced and everyday information-seeking practices they adopted when transitioning to university. Our results reveal that participants utilized information searching-as-learning and serendipitous searching on platforms such as YouTube, Reddit, and Telegram during the transitional phase. Implications of our work are discussed.