Examining the Content of TikTok Phenomena on Climate Change in the Context of Digital Activism
Abstract
The digital transformation experienced with the developing technology has led to changes in the structure of “activism”, which is one of the methods of struggle to change the problems in the social structure. It has become commonplace for activism to gain a different dimension and become digital activism and for individuals who are activists in this process to realize their feelings, thoughts and actions through social media. It is seen that many non-governmental organizations and organizations have carried out various activism organizations on the climate crisis, which is one of the biggest problems of the age we live in. Considering that the main condition for preventing climate change is social awareness, it is extremely important to examine the content of social media phenomena on climate change in the context of digital activism and to contribute to raising awareness on society. It is seen that mass media such as television and radio, which are considered traditional communication methods, have been replaced by social media platforms and individuals frequently use social media both for communication and information exchange. When the social transformations experienced in the historical process are evaluated; it is seen that all transformations have an information process and organizational stages. In today's conditions, it is seen that all kinds of socialization, especially information exchange, is carried out through social media. It is thought that the sharing of content related to climate change by social media platforms such as Instagram, Twitter, TikTok will both raise the awareness of the society and increase awareness about climate change. In this context, a review of the literature on the problem of climate change, which closely concerns the whole world, was conducted to show the extent of the problem and the studies carried out by both states and institutions were included. It is seen that the problem of climate change cannot be solved without taking individual and social measures. In this context, it is extremely important that social media phenomena, which have the highest rate of influence today and are seen among social representatives such as artists and opinion leaders, inform the public and raise awareness. The content created by Tik-Tok phenomena, the social media application discussed within the scope of the study, was analyzed and the content created especially for climate change was identified. The total viewership and sharing rates of the phenomenon contents on climate change, which constitute the sample of the study, were transferred in the study, and the interaction they received was given. The findings obtained as a result of the study are evaluated and presented in the conclusion section. In this study, which was conducted with content analysis, which is a quantitative data analysis method among research methods, it is seen that it is possible to reach large masses thanks to the content created through social media. These posts, which are seen and interacted with millions of people, are important in terms of raising awareness among individuals. It is thought that individuals who follow these posts will be at least conceptually informed about climate change and will make changes in their lives in line with the phenomena they follow. In addition, it is noteworthy that another emphasizing feature in the content is that there are information that is not conveyed by traditional media, and even if it is, it is seen to be unsuccessful in terms of both duration and target audience.
Keywords
Dijital Aktivizm Bağlamında TikTok Fenomenlerinin İklim Değişikliği Hakkındaki İçeriklerinin İncelenmesi
Öz
Gelişen teknolojiyle birlikte yaşanan dijital dönüşüm, sosyal yapıdaki sorunları değiştirmek için mücadele yöntemlerinden biri olan 'aktivizm'in yapısında da değişikliklere yol açmıştır. Çağımızın en büyük sorunlarından biri olan iklim krizi konusunda birçok sivil toplum kuruluşu ve örgütlenmenin çeşitli aktivizm örgütlenmeleri gerçekleştirdiği görülmektedir. İklim değişikliğini önlemenin temel koşulunun toplumsal farkındalık olduğu düşünüldüğünde, iklim değişikliği konusunda sosyal medya fenomenlerinin içeriğini dijital aktivizm bağlamında incelemek ve toplumda farkındalığın artırılmasına katkıda bulunmak son derece önemlidir. Bu bağlamda, tüm dünyayı yakından ilgilendiren iklim değişikliği sorununa ilişkin bir literatür taraması yapılmış, sorunun boyutları ortaya konmuş ve hem devletler hem de kurumlar tarafından yapılan çalışmalar dahil edilmiştir. İklim değişikliği sorununun bireysel ve toplumsal önlemler alınmadan çözülemeyeceği görülmüştür. Çalışma kapsamında ele alınan sosyal medya uygulaması TikTok fenomenleri tarafından oluşturulan içerikler analiz edilmiş ve iklim değişikliği için özel olarak oluşturulan içerikler tespit edilmiştir. Çalışmanın örneklemini oluşturan iklim değişikliği ile ilgili fenomen içeriklerin toplam görüntülenme ve paylaşım oranları çalışmada sunulmuş ve aldıkları etkileşimler dahil edilmiştir. İçerik analizi ile gerçekleştirilen bu çalışmada, iklim değişikliği ile ilgili içerikler analiz edilmiştir.
Anahtar Kelimeler
