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“How did I make it?” The affective circulation of success narratives in Instagram videos

Cilt: 23 Sayı: 2026 30 Haziran 2026
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“How did I make it?” The affective circulation of success narratives in Instagram videos

Öz

This study examines the comment sections of increasingly popular Instagram Reels structured around “how did I make it?” narratives through the concept of affective publics. Drawing on qualitative digital content analysis, the study codes 500 comments according to primary emotion, causal attribution, and comment function across 25 Turkish language Instagram Reels videos selected from five themes: The Higher Education Institutions Examination (YKS), graduate study abroad, career, migration and life abroad, and entrepreneurship. The findings show that success narratives do not produce a one-dimensional sense of inspiration. Rather, they circulate admiration/appreciation, hope, cynicism, anger/injustice, inadequacy, and information seeking in different combinations across themes. Broadly, the themes fell into two affective groupings: YKS and graduate study abroad were more strongly associated with admiration, hope, and process-oriented guidance seeking, while migration and life abroad and entrepreneurship more strongly elicited emotionally charged evaluations of inequality, access, fairness, and legitimacy; career remained more ambivalent, positioned between information seeking and suspicion. The article argues that success narratives produce multiple public positions in Turkey around inequality, social mobility, and imagined futures.

Anahtar Kelimeler

Instagram, success narratives, affective publics, social comparison, cruel optimism

Etik Beyan

This study is of a nature that does not require ethics committee approval, and the data used were obtained through a review of the literature and other published sources. It is hereby declared that scientific and ethical principles were observed throughout the preparation of this study and that all works utilized have been indicated in the references.

Kaynakça

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  7. Calder-Dawe, O., Lacey, C., Wetherell, M., & Daubs, M. S. (2025). Being a positive influence(r): Exploring affective pedagogies of wellbeing and positivity on Instagram. Feminist Media Studies, 25(3), 576–592. https://doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2023.2297160
  8. Caner, H. A., & Bayhan, S. (2020). High-stakes examination policies and transformation of the Turkish education system. International Journal of Educational Development, 79, 102263. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijedudev.2020.102263
  9. Duffy, B. E. (2017). (Not) getting paid to do what you love: Gender, social media, and aspirational work. Yale University Press.
  10. Festinger, L. (1954). A theory of social comparison processes. Human Relations, 7(2), 117–140. https://doi.org/10.1177/001872675400700202

Kaynak Göster

APA
Yılmaz Polat, E. (2026). “How did I make it?” The affective circulation of success narratives in Instagram videos. OPUS Journal of Society Research, 23(2026), 1-21. https://doi.org/10.26466/opusjsr.1931873
AMA
1.Yılmaz Polat E. “How did I make it?” The affective circulation of success narratives in Instagram videos. OPUS TAD. 2026;23(2026):1-21. doi:10.26466/opusjsr.1931873
Chicago
Yılmaz Polat, Evrim. 2026. “‘How did I make it?’ The affective circulation of success narratives in Instagram videos”. OPUS Journal of Society Research 23 (2026): 1-21. https://doi.org/10.26466/opusjsr.1931873.
EndNote
Yılmaz Polat E (01 Haziran 2026) “How did I make it?” The affective circulation of success narratives in Instagram videos. OPUS Journal of Society Research 23 2026 1–21.
IEEE
[1]E. Yılmaz Polat, “‘How did I make it?’ The affective circulation of success narratives in Instagram videos”, OPUS TAD, c. 23, sy 2026, ss. 1–21, Haz. 2026, doi: 10.26466/opusjsr.1931873.
ISNAD
Yılmaz Polat, Evrim. “‘How did I make it?’ The affective circulation of success narratives in Instagram videos”. OPUS Journal of Society Research 23/2026 (01 Haziran 2026): 1-21. https://doi.org/10.26466/opusjsr.1931873.
JAMA
1.Yılmaz Polat E. “How did I make it?” The affective circulation of success narratives in Instagram videos. OPUS TAD. 2026;23:1–21.
MLA
Yılmaz Polat, Evrim. “‘How did I make it?’ The affective circulation of success narratives in Instagram videos”. OPUS Journal of Society Research, c. 23, sy 2026, Haziran 2026, ss. 1-21, doi:10.26466/opusjsr.1931873.
Vancouver
1.Evrim Yılmaz Polat. “How did I make it?” The affective circulation of success narratives in Instagram videos. OPUS TAD. 01 Haziran 2026;23(2026):1-21. doi:10.26466/opusjsr.1931873