THE INFLUENCE OF YOUTUBE COUNTER-NARRATIVE MESSAGES ON GENERATION Z'S ATTITUDINAL CHANGES TOWARD CHILDFREE ISSUES AND DEPOPULATION THREATS

Abstract

Background: YouTube's evolution as a digital information ecosystem has made it a primary source of opinion formation for Generation Z on social issues, including the viral childfree trend in Indonesia that poses practical risks of accelerating depopulation.  Objective: This study aims to analyze the effect of YouTube counter-narrative message exposure on attitude change among Gen Z public university students in Jakarta regarding the childfree issue and depopulation threat awareness across cognitive, affective, and conative dimensions.  Methods: A quantitative approach with a true experiment pretest-posttest control group design was employed. A total of 96 active public university students aged 18–26 were randomly assigned to an experimental group (n=48) receiving structured YouTube counter-narrative content and a control group (n=48) receiving no treatment. Statistical analysis was conducted to examine inter-group score change differences.  Results: The Pre- experimental group demonstrated significant reductions in pro-childfree attitude scores across all three dimensions compared to the control group, with the largest change observed in the cognitive dimension. Depopulation awareness increased dramatically from 18.8% to 71.4% of respondents able to accurately define the concept, while the affective dimension exhibited the greatest resistance to change.  Conclusion: YouTube counter-narrative messages empirically proved effective in modifying Gen Z public university students' attitudes toward the childfree issue and enhancing depopulation awareness, with implications as a foundation for further research on digital communication strategies based on the elaboration likelihood model in Indonesia.