Popüler Kültür ve Dijitalleşme: Yeni Medya Ekosisteminde Yakınsama ve Kitle Üzerine Sosyolojik Bir Analiz

Türkçe

Popular culture becomes prominent as a sociological phenomenon due to its position in making sense of the society in which large masses live in. This important sociological phenomenon has increased its extent and importance with the rise of mass media, and from this aspect, it should be discussed in the context of its compulsory relationship with communication technologies. Digitalization, which is presented as a revolution in communication technology, gains importance in this context. Digitalization is a social process in itself, as it is a new cultural space in which our social life takes place. From this point of view and with the hypothesis that the phenomenon of popular culture is transforming in the context of digitalization, the study aims to open this transformation up for a theoretical discussion and to perform a conceptual analysis. Popular culture appears as a complex, relational field in which multiple actors are involved in the process. The structural characteristics of this field and the agency which takes place in the field constitute the primary focus of the conceptual analysis. The structural analysis conducted through the media ecosystem as an extension of the industrial dimension of the field, and the analysis on agency conducted through the two dimensions of agency in the field; the positioning of the mass and algorithm technologies. Traditional media has not disappeared with the rise of digital media platforms. Contrary to these views digital media and traditional media are constitute a new, fast, and massive media ecosystem that is increasingly converging. This new ecosystem may seem as a promise of offering a democratic environment but only the type of content which can be produced at a fast pace and frequently and also the type which is spreadable by the mass cost popular culture. From this point of view, it is thought that "being popular" is positioned as the supra-ideology of the discourse on digitalization. In the context of agency, it is no longer possible to talk about a passive receiver mass in this massive ecosystem. The relations occur within the scope of participatory culture are of great importance in shaping popular culture but also algorithms, as another actor involved in the process, have a role at least as much as free choices in shaping mass behavior. Popular culture today is shaped as a result of a relational process between actors, not in a linear model in which a single actor is decisive on others, and it is suggested that this relationality should be taken into account in future studies.