ASMR as Example Narrowcasting and Its Audience: A Review on Turkish ASMR

Öz

In the new media where there are many presentations and representations, the audience who are increasingly fragmented, are integrated around different thematic areas, and more specific interests that affect their mass characteristics. In this study, ASMR the phenomenon, which is among the popular contents of YouTube, and has begun to gain a place in the mainstream media, is discussed as a new contextual category that corresponds to the more specific interests of the audience and within the scope of narrowcasting. The expansions that ASMR brings to both narrowcasting and fragmented audience are presented. In this context, ASMR videos were observed by the netnography method during a year on YouTube, 8 Turkish ASMR content creators/ASMRtists were interviewed with, and the audience comments in the three most watched videos of these ASMRtists on YouTube were examined. Among the more significant findings of the study are that the ASMR has 14 content categories in the context of narrowcasting, that the audience who expect relaxation/therapy with ASMR make requests like an active content producer/prosumer, and they need media mediation even so as to fall asleep.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Narrowcasting
• Audience Fragmentation
• ASMR
• YouTube
• Prosumer

Tematik Yayıncılık Örneği Olarak ASMR ve İzleyicisi: Türkçe ASMR Üzerine Bir Araştırma

Öz

Birçok temsilin ve sunumun olduğu yeni medyada izleyiciler giderek bölünmeye uğramakta, kitleselliklerini etkileyen spesifik ilgiler etrafında ve farklı tematik alanlarda bütünleşmektedirler. Bu çalışmada YouTube’un popüler içerikleri arasında olan ve ana akım medyada da kendisine yer edinmeye başlayan ASMR olgusu izleyicilerin daha spesifik ilgilerine cevap veren tematik yayıncılık kapsamında ele alınmış ve ASMR’ın hem tematik yayıncılığa hem de bölünmüş izleyiciliğe dair getirmiş olduğu açılımlar ortaya koyulmuştur. Bu bağlamda netnografi yöntemiyle YouTube’daki birçok ASMR videosu bir yıl boyunca gözlemlenmiş, 8 Türkçe ASMR içerik üreticisiyle/ASMRtist ile görüşmeler yapılmış ve YouTube kanallarındaki en çok izlenen üç videodaki izleyici yorumları ele alınmıştır. Çalışmanın önemli bulguları arasında ASMR’ın tematik yayıncılık bağlamında 14 içerik kategorisine sahip olması, ASMR ile rahatlama/terapi bekleyen izleyicilerin aktif bir içerik üreticisi/üretüketici gibi davranmaları ve uykuya dalabilmek için bile medya dolayımına ihtiyaç duymaları bulunmaktadır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Tematik Yayıncılık
• İzleyici Bölünmesi
• ASMR
• YouTube
• Üretüketici

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