The effects of social media on democracy and political polarization in Turkey from the perspective of Turkish students
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Tarih
2022
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info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
Özet
Türkiye'de internet ve sosyal medya kullanımı sürekli artmakta, aynı zamanda geleneksel haber kaynakları da zayıflamaktadır. Bu durum, cumhuriyetin bilgi ortamında bir değişikliğe işaret etmektedir. Türkiye'de siyaset sahnesinde her zaman toplumsal ve siyasal kutuplaşma resmedilmiştir. Güç kaydığında bile, bölünme devam etmiştir. Bu çalışma, Türkiye'de sosyal medya ile siyasi kutuplaşma arasındaki bağlantıyı bulmaya yöneliktir. Bu çalışmanın amaçlarına ulaşmak için nitel ve nicel metodoloji kullanılarak, (370) Türk üniversite öğrencisine bir anket dağıtılarak veri toplama gerçekleştirilmiş, anket 25 (çoktan seçmeli, Likert ölçeği ve bir açık soru) sorudan oluşmakta olup, Google formları kullanılarak 26 Nisan-16 Mayıs tarihleri arasında Türkiye'de 18 – 50+ yaş aralığında lisans, yüksek lisans ve doktora düzeyindeki üniversite öğrencileri katılmıştır. Ayrıca farklı eğitim düzeylerinden 6 öğrenciden oluşan bir odak grup çalışması. Sorular yarı yapılandırılmış olup, görüşme Zoom üzerinden gerçekleştirilmiştir. Çalışma, sosyal medyanın siyasi kutuplaşma üzerinde zayıf ile orta düzeyde bir etkiye sahip olduğunu bulmuştur. Çalışmanın sonuçları, Türk gençliğinin siyasi haber almak için sosyal medya platformlarına güvenmediğini ve çoğunun sosyal medyada siyasi liderleri takip etmediğini, iletişim platformlarının gençleri kendilerini ifade etmeye teşvik etmediğini ve son olarak, sosyal medya algoritmalarının, kullanıcıya önerdikleri içerik aracılığıyla filtre balonları oluşturmaya orta derecede katkıda bulunduğuna dikkat çekilmiştir.
The usage of the internet and social media in Turkey is constantly growing, simultaneously, traditional news outlets are getting weaker. This situation indicates an alteration in the republic's information landscape. Social and political polarization was always portrayed in the political scene in Turkey. Even when the power shifted, the division remained sustained. This study aims at finding if there is a link between social media and political polarization in Turkey. To reach the goals of this study and collect needed data, qualitative and quantitative approaches were applied. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to (370) Turkish university students. The questionnaire using google forms consisted of 25 (multiple-choice, Likert scale, and an open question), conducted during the period (April 26 - May 16). The sample consisted of university students across undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. levels in Turkey aged between 18 – 50+. An online focus group discussion was well applied to have a more in-depth understanding of the research problem. It was conducted with six students also from different university education levels. The results of the study showed that the perspectives of the Turkish Students were that social media had a weak to moderate effect on political polarization in Turkey. Furthermore, the results of the study indicated that the studied sample of Turkish students does not rely on social media platforms to obtain political news, and most of them do not follow political leaders on social media. In addition, communication platforms did not encourage Turkish students to express themselves, as well as an indication that social media algorithms have contributed to a medium degree in creating filter bubbles through the content they suggest to users.
The usage of the internet and social media in Turkey is constantly growing, simultaneously, traditional news outlets are getting weaker. This situation indicates an alteration in the republic's information landscape. Social and political polarization was always portrayed in the political scene in Turkey. Even when the power shifted, the division remained sustained. This study aims at finding if there is a link between social media and political polarization in Turkey. To reach the goals of this study and collect needed data, qualitative and quantitative approaches were applied. A questionnaire was designed and distributed to (370) Turkish university students. The questionnaire using google forms consisted of 25 (multiple-choice, Likert scale, and an open question), conducted during the period (April 26 - May 16). The sample consisted of university students across undergraduate, graduate, and Ph.D. levels in Turkey aged between 18 – 50+. An online focus group discussion was well applied to have a more in-depth understanding of the research problem. It was conducted with six students also from different university education levels. The results of the study showed that the perspectives of the Turkish Students were that social media had a weak to moderate effect on political polarization in Turkey. Furthermore, the results of the study indicated that the studied sample of Turkish students does not rely on social media platforms to obtain political news, and most of them do not follow political leaders on social media. In addition, communication platforms did not encourage Turkish students to express themselves, as well as an indication that social media algorithms have contributed to a medium degree in creating filter bubbles through the content they suggest to users.
Açıklama
Anahtar Kelimeler
İletişim Bilimleri, Kutuplaşma, Siyasal Partileşme Özgürlüğü, Sosyal Medya, Yerel Demokrasi, Yerel Siyaset, Öğrenci Görüşleri, Communication Sciences, Polarization, Freedom Political Participiation, Social Media, Local Democracy, Local Politics, Opinions of Students, İletişim Bilimleri, Communication Sciences, Kutuplaşma, Polarization, Siyasal partileşme özgürlüğü, Freedom political participiation, Sosyal medya, Social media, Yerel demokrasi, Local democracy, Yerel siyaset, Local politics, Öğrenci görüşleri, Opinions of students
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Künye
Wazzan, A. M. Z. S. (2022). The effects of social media on democracy and political polarization in Turkey from the perspective of Turkish students. (Unpublished master’s thesis). Ibn Haldun University School of Graduate Studies, Istanbul.
