Prekar Gençliğin YouTube’daki Yansımaları: 49W Üzerinden Alternatif Bir Siyasal İfade Alanı

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışma, Türkiye’de giderek genişleyen prekarya sınıfına mensup gençlerin dijital medyada geliştirdikleri siyasal ifade biçimlerini, 49W adlı YouTube kanalı üzerinden incelemektedir.

Yöntem: Niteliksel söylem çözümlemesi, duygu analizi, sosyal ağ haritalaması ve derinlemesine görüşme tekniklerini içeren çok yöntemli tasarımıyla çalışma, gençlerin geleneksel medyaya olan güvensizliklerini, alternatif bilgi kaynaklarına yönelimlerini ve “temiz” anlatıcılara duydukları güveni ele almaktadır. Araştırma kapsamında 345 videodan elde edilen 118.473 YouTube yorumu analiz edilmiş; kanalın kurgusu, yorumlardaki tematik yoğunluklar ve duygulanımsal tepkiler ayrıntılı şekilde haritalanmıştır. Ayrıca kanalın içerik üreticilerinden Abdülvahit Gezer’le görüşme, platformun politik konumlanışını, anlatıcı figürünün tasarımını ve algoritmik görünürlükle baş etme stratejilerini anlamada derinlikli içgörüler sunmuştur.

Bulgular: Elde edilen bulgular, 49W’nin açıklayıcı gazetecilik formunu benimsediğini, “temiz yüz” figürleri aracılığıyla medya güvenini yeniden inşa ettiğini ve gençlerin siyasal rezonansını etkileyen duygulanımsal bağlar kurduğunu ortaya koymaktadır.

Sonuç: Bu yönüyle çalışma, genç prekaryanın dijital kamusal alandaki sesini, medya krizine karşı geliştirdiği alternatif anlatı stratejilerini ve politik aidiyet arayışını anlamaya katkı sunmaktadır.

Keywords

• Gençlik çalışmaları
• medya çalışmaları
• prekarya
• açıklayıcı gazetecilik
• haberden kaçınma

Reflections of Precarious Youth on YouTube: An Alternative Political Expression Space Through 49W

Abstract

Aim: This study examines the forms of political expression developed by young people belonging to the expanding precariat class in Turkey through the YouTube channel called 49W.

Methods: Using a multi-method design that includes qualitative discourse analysis, sentiment analysis, social network mapping, and in-depth interviews, the study addresses young people’s distrust of traditional media, their turn to alternative sources of information, and their trust in “clean” narrators. Within the scope of the research, 118,473 YouTube comments from 345 videos were analyzed; the channel’s narrative structure, thematic concentrations in comments, and affective responses were mapped in detail. In addition, an interview with one of the channel’s content creators, Abdülvahit Gezer, provided in-depth insights into the platform’s political positioning, the design of the narrator figure, and strategies for coping with algorithmic visibility.

Results: The findings reveal that 49W adopts an explanatory journalism form, rebuilds media trust through “clean face” figures, and establishes affective bonds that influence the political resonance of young people.

Conclusion: In this respect, the study contributes to understanding the voice of the young precariat in the digital public sphere, the alternative narrative strategies they develop in response to the media crisis, and their search for political belonging.

Keywords

• Youth studies
• media studies
• precariat
• explanatory journalism
• news avoidance

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