International Journal of Science Culture and Sport (IntJSCS) December 2014: 2(4) ISSN : 2148-1148 Doi : 10.14486/IJSCS207 A Research on Social and Political Use of Social Media in Turkey Ahmet ÇETİNKAYA*, Özgür Erkut ŞAHİN**, Ali Murat KIRIK*** *Assist. Prof., Marmara University, Faculty of Communication, Department of Journalism, İstanbul, TURKEY, [email protected] **Assist. Prof., Bahcesehir University, Vocational School, Computer Programming, İstanbul, TURKEY, [email protected] ***Assist. Prof., Marmara University, Faculty of Communication, Department of Radio and Television, İstanbul, TURKEY, [email protected] Abstract Social media, generated by advances in internet technology, are heavily used by individuals of every age and every class both in Turkey and all over the world. Social networking sites such as Facebook, Twitter and Google+ make virtual societies possible, and enable ideas, opinions and comments to be shared. This sharing of visual and auditory context without any limitations has produced a more democratic platform. The democratic structure specific to social media enables them to be used for social and political purposes. In this study, a research is conducted on social/political use of social media in Turkey. Results of the research revealed that majority of the participants (46.6%) spend 2 to 4 hours on social media and 75.6% of the participants use smart phones for social media access. 11.2% of participants stated that they use social media for political and social purposes. 78.9% of the participants use Twitter and Facebook for political/social information sharing. 67.7% of participants frequently use Twitter for political/social purposes. In terms of political issues, participants prefer to use social media for domestic affairs rather than international affairs. The most controversial result was about the participants’ pessimistic attitude towards social media. Some part of the participants think that social media will not change anything in Turkey, and the other part states that social media usage will divide up the society. Detailed analyses are given throughout the article. Key Words: Social Media, Social Movements, Democratic Participation, Content Sharing, Molding Public Opinion. Copyright©IntJSCS (www.iscsjournal.com) - 49 International Journal of Science Culture and Sport (IntJSCS) December 2014 Türkiye'de Sosyal Medyanın Toplumsal ve Siyasal Kullanımı Üzerine Bir Araştırma Özet İnternet teknolojisinin gelişim göstermesiyle hayat bulan sosyal medya gerek Türkiye’de gerekse de dünyada her yaştan her kesimden birey tarafından yoğun bir şekilde kullanılmaktadır. Facebook, Twitter, Google+…vb. gibi sosyal paylaşım ağları insanların sanal topluluklar oluşturmasına olanak vermekte, fikir, görüş ve düşüncelerin paylaşılmasını sağlamaktadır. Görsel, işitsel içeriklerin herhangi bir engelle karşılaşılmadan paylaşılabilmesi sosyal medyanın daha demokratik bir yapıya sahip olmasını sağlamıştır. Sosyal medyanın daha demokratik bir yapıya sahip olması, bu ağların toplumsal ve politik amaçlı kullanılabilmesini mümkün kılmıştır. Bu çalışmada, Türkiye'de sosyal medyanın toplumsal/politik amaçlı kullanımı araştırılmıştır. Araştırma sonuçlarına göre katılımcıların büyük çoğunluğu (%46.6) sosyal medyada günde 2-4 saat vakit geçirmekte ve bu kullanıcıların %75.6'sı sosyal medya erişimi için akıllı telefon kullanmaktadır. Sosyal medyayı politik ve toplumsal amaçlar için kullandığını ifade eden katılımcı oranı ise %11.2'dir. Bu politik/toplumsal bilgi paylaşımının 78.9'u Facebook ve Twitter üzerinden gerçekleşmektedir. Katılımcıların %67.7'si Twitter'ı sıklıkla politik/sosyal amaçlar için kullanmaktadır. Kullanıcıların sosyal medyayı politik amaçlı kullanımı uluslararası politikaya nazaran iç politikada daha yoğundur. Araştırmanın en şaşırtıcı sonucu ise katılımcıların sosyal medya hakkındaki karamsar kanaatleridir. Katılımcıların bir kısmı sosyal medyanın Türkiye'de hiçbir şeyi değiştiremeyeceğine inanırken diğer bir kısmı sosyal medyanın toplumu böleceğine inanmaktadır. Analizler makale içerisinde detaylandırılmıştır. Anahtar Kelimeler: Sosyal Medya, Toplumsal Hareketler, Demokratik Katılım, İçerik Paylaşımı, Kamuoyu Oluşturma Copyright©IntJSCS (www.iscsjournal.com) - 50 Çetinkaya et al., A Research on Social and Political Use… 2(4):49-60 1. Introduction New communication media have begun to emerge with the birth and growth of internet technology. Interaction phenomenon, which interchanged the roles of source and receiver, constructed the basis structure of Web 2.0. Close correlation between internet technology and digital technologies extended the coverage of new media, and caused social networking sites to become prominent. Investment in social media is becoming higher and higher both in Turkey and all over the world; and number of active users are increasing accordingly. Social media with its unique framework attracts individuals and makes them social media addicts. Involvement of individuals from all classes of society without any distinctions such as income level, age and sex, indicates a more liberal environment provided by social media. Social media have caused considerable changes in communication field, and had revolutionary implications for social structure. Its democratic structure has also enabled promotion of different ideas and expression of opinions. Besides, liberal use of social media has made users able to share all the content they want. Individuals are able to use social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Google+ for such purposes. A social medium including divergent views would have social and political importance. It can be observed clearly that, just like all the rest of the world, social networking sites are used for social and political purposes also in Turkey, since social media have the ability of agenda setting. In this study, political and social uses of social media in Turkey are examined. The quantitative method of “Survey Technique” is used during the research. Individual opinions about social media are sought, and the importance of social networking sites in terms of social and political issues is emphasized. Reasonable suggestions on social/political use of social media are provided in the light of findings. 2. An Overview of Social Media Term In today’s world, social media are an essential part of our lives. Social networking sites, having various fields of use, attract individuals of all ages and all classes. Rheingold defines social media as “social aggregations that emerge from the Internet when enough people carry on public discussions long enough and with sufficient human feeling to form webs of personal relationships in cyberspace.” (Tektaş, 2014: 853). A social networking site is also defined to be an interactive medium, developed to establish communities, enable sharing and foster collaboration. Various definitions of social media are possible. They are social platforms on which users share their knowledge, experiences and interests through the Internet or mobile systems. Check in, chat rooms, discussion boards, electronic guides, blogs, podcasts and video sharing sites are parts of social media. Besides interpersonal communication, it enables mass communication as well. It provides both an information exchange between two individual sources and a flow of information from a single source to a number of other sources. Social media are the most important and the most fundamental benefit of second generation web technologies. Through this technology of Web 2.0, as it is called, one-sided information flow has been replaced with two-sided one, and interaction phenomenon has occurred at its highest level. Social networking sites, continuing to be heavily used throughout the world, allow users to propose different ideas and express conflicting opinions freely. In addition, Copyright©IntJSCS (www.iscsjournal.com) - 51 International Journal of Science Culture and Sport (IntJSCS) December 2014 rapid advances in technology have enabled richer social media content, and made it possible for users to share visual and auditory content easily. As a matter of fact, today contents such as videos, movies, music clips, cartoons and photographs can be shared through social media (Özkaşıkçı, 2012: 28). 2.1. Basic Components of Social Media Being a product of new generation communication technologies and using internet technology infrastructure, social media have their own components. Mayfield identifies five main components of social media (Mayfield, 2008: 6): Participants: Participants are the most basic component of social media. It is impossible to share and interact without the existence of participants, or users as it is named. Participants are encouraged in social media, and they get feedback about their posts. Community: Social media enables communities to be formed easily and effectively. Members of these communities, called social groups, can interchange any content like photos or music tracks without facing any limitations. Connectedness: The most important benefit of social media is the ability to give links to other web sites. Meanly, one can give a link relating to a news item, a research or an analysis through a social media web site. Conversation: While in traditional media only one-sided content flow was possible, social media enable two-sided or multiple-sided flow of information. Not only objects can be delivered as web content but also electronic text delivery is possible. Openness: Social media services are open