İptal kültürü: Dijital çağda toplumsal denetimin yeni boyutu

Öz

Bu çalışma, dijitalleşmeyle birlikte sosyal medya platformlarında şekillenen iptal kültürü olgusunu yeni nesil bir toplumsal denetim mekanizması olarak ele almaktadır. Antik dönemden modern totaliter rejimlere kadar uzanan tarihsel dışlama pratiklerinden beslenen iptal kültürü, dijital çağda kullanıcılar arası etkileşim ve gözetim yoluyla yeniden biçimlenmiştir. Makalede, iptal kültürünün tarihsel kökenleri ve teorik arka planı incelenmiş; sosyal medyanın toplumsal normlar üzerindeki dönüştürücü etkisi Marshall McLuhan’ın teknolojik determinizm yaklaşımı ve Jürgen Habermas’ın kamusal alan kuramı çerçevesinde değerlendirilmiştir. ABD merkezli #MeToo ve Black Lives Matter gibi hareketlerin yanı sıra Türkiye’deki örnekler üzerinden iptal kültürünün yerel ve küresel tezahürleri karşılaştırmalı biçimde analiz edilmiştir. Çalışma, iptal kültürünün ifade özgürlüğünü tehdit eden ve kutuplaşmayı derinleştiren yönlerine dikkat çekerken, aynı zamanda marjinalleştirilmiş grupların seslerini duyurmasına olanak tanıyan bir hesap sorma aracı işlevi de gördüğünü ortaya koymaktadır. Bu bağlamda iptal kültürü, dijital çağın ifade rejimleri, toplumsal sorumluluk anlayışı ve demokratik diyalog potansiyelleri arasındaki gerilimleri yansıtan çok katmanlı bir olgu olarak değerlendirilmektedir. Çalışma, iptal kültürünün teknolojik belirlenim, kamusal alan ve toplumsal denetim kavramlarıyla ilişkisini açıklamaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• sosyal bilimler
• dijitalleşme
• iptal kültürü
• sosyal medya
• toplumsal denetim

Cancel culture: A new dimension of social control in the digital age

Abstract

This study examines the phenomenon of cancel culture, which has taken shape through digitalization and the widespread use of social media platforms, as a new-generation mechanism of social control. Drawing from historical practices of exclusion that extend from antiquity to modern totalitarian regimes, cancel culture is reconfigured in the digital age through user interaction and participatory surveillance. The article explores the historical roots and theoretical foundations of cancel culture, evaluating the transformative impact of social media on societal norms within the frameworks of Marshall McLuhan’s technological determinism and Jürgen Habermas’s theory of the public sphere. By offering a comparative analysis of both global movements such as #MeToo and Black Lives Matter and local cases in Turkey, the study situates cancel culture within both global and national contexts. The research highlights cancel culture’s threats to free expression and polarization, but also its potential as an accountability tool that amplifies marginalized voices. Cancel culture is understood as a multifaceted phenomenon that reflects the tensions among expression regimes, social responsibility, and democratic dialogue in the digital age. The study explains the relationship between cancel culture and the concepts of technological determinism, the public sphere, and social control.

Keywords

• social science
• digitalization
• cancel culture
• social media
• public accountability

Kaynakça

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