Cringe’in Duygulanımsal Ekonomisi: Salt Bae ve Çevrimiçi Şöhretin Politikası

Abstract

Bu makale, çağdaş sosyal medya ünlülüğünün görünürlük rejimleri içinde cringe (utanç verici rahatsızlık) duygusunun kurucu bir mekanizma olarak işleyişini incelemekte; küresel ölçekte “Salt Bae” olarak bilinen Nusret Gökçe’nin dijital personasını merkeze almaktadır. Sara Ahmed’in duygulanımsal ekonomiler kavramsallaştırması, Erving Goffman’ın benliğin dramaturjik sunumu yaklaşımı ve Alice Marwick’in mikro-ünlülük çerçevesinden yararlanan çalışma, Gökçe’nin hiper-performatif jestleri ve estetik aşırılığının özgünlük, meşruiyet ve kamusal tanınma etrafında nasıl gerilimler ürettiğini analiz etmektedir. Nitel ve kuram temelli bir içerik analizi yöntemi benimseyen makale, geniş çapta dolaşıma girmiş iki YouTube Shorts videosunu incelemektedir: bunlardan ilki, Gökçe’nin 2022 FIFA Dünya Kupası kutlamalarının ritüel alanına sembolik biçimde müdahil oluşunu belgeleyen bir video; ikincisi ise popüler bir restoran incelemesi üzerinden lüks tüketimine yönelik izleyici eleştirisine odaklanan bir içeriktir. Her iki örnek olayda da analiz, Gökçe’nin hedeflediği otorite ile izleyici tarafından üretilen alaycı tepkiler arasındaki uyumsuzluğun, platform temelli görünürlük ekonomilerinde dolaşımın temel itici güçlerinden biri hâline geldiğini göstermektedir. Gökçe’nin viral karizmadan bir “cringe ikonu”na dönüşümünü izleyen çalışma, çağdaş ünlülüğün yalnızca hayranlık yoluyla değil; başkasının yerine utanma, alay ve ahlaki eleştiri gibi muğlak etkileşim biçimleri üzerinden de sürdürülebileceğini savunmaktadır. Sonuç olarak cringe, dijital kamuların kültürel meşruiyeti müzakere ettikleri açıklayıcı bir duygulanımsal mekanizma olarak ortaya çıkmakta; aynı zamanda platform kapitalizmi koşullarında çevrimiçi şöhretin sürekliliğine katkıda bulunurken bir yandan da kırılgan bir hale getirmektedir.

Keywords

• Salt Bae
• Nusret Gökçe
• Popüler Kültür
• Cringe
• Sosyal Medya Şöhreti

Ethical Statement

Makalede etik beyan onayı gerektiren araştırma yöntemleri kullanılmamıştır.

The Affective Economy of Cringe: Salt Bae and the Politics of Online Celebrity

Abstract

This article examines the affective economy of cringe as a constitutive mechanism within the visibility regimes of contemporary social media celebrity, focusing on the digital persona of Nusret Gökçe, globally known as “Salt Bae.” Drawing on Sara Ahmed’s conceptualization of affective economies, Erving Goffman’s dramaturgical account of self-presentation, and Alice Marwick’s framework of micro-celebrity, the study explores how Gökçe’s hyper-performative gestures and aesthetic excess generate tensions around authenticity, legitimacy, and public recognition. Employing a qualitative, theory-driven content analysis, the article investigates two widely circulated YouTube Shorts: one documenting Gökçe’s symbolic intrusion into the ritual space of the 2022 FIFA World Cup celebrations, and another centered on audience critique of luxury consumption through a popular restaurant review. Across both cases, the analysis suggests that the disjunction between Gökçe’s intended authority and the audience’s ridicule becomes a key driver of circulation within platform-based visibility economies. Tracing Gökçe’s shift from viral charisma to a “cringe icon,” the study argues that contemporary celebrity can be sustained not only through admiration but also through ambivalent forms of engagement rooted in vicarious embarrassment, mockery, and moralized critique. Ultimately, cringe emerges as a revealing affective mechanism through which digital publics negotiate cultural legitimacy, while simultaneously contributing to the persistence—and precarity—of online fame under platform capitalism.

Keywords

• Salt Bae,
• Nusret Gökçe,
• Popular Culture
• Cringe
• Social Media Celebrity

Ethical Statement

The methodological research perspective of the article do not require the ethic statement report.

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