Istanbul Gelisim University (IGU) Faculty of Fine Arts (GSF) Department of Communication and Design Res. Asst. Ayten Bengisu Cansever, a statement titled "Twitter as a Macro-Dimensed Public Space in the Coronavirus Quarantine: Turkey's Agenda Analysis" at the 8th International Communication Days organized by Üsküdar university made her presentation. This paper, presented by Res. Asst. Ayten Bengisu Cansever, was published as an e-book on November 30, 2021.
From the abstract:
“In this study, Twitter, one of the social media networks during the coronavirus quarantine days, is positioned as an alternative public space in cyberspace for individuals. The concept of public space; It refers to areas that are open to everyone's participation, where ideas are freely circulated, and where individuals form public opinion. When viewed at the academic level, the public sphere is divided into three layers: macro, meso and micro. This layered approach to the public sphere; When applied to Twitter, which is positioned as a cyber public space in the study, it is thought that it corresponds to the micro layer in the context of bilateral interactions, the meso layer in terms of the cluster formed by follower-follower users, and the trending Topic corresponds to the macro layer. In the light of this ecology of thinking, it is aimed to reveal and discuss the patterns of struggles and reconciliation under the agenda topics by including Twitter Turkey's publicity in the macro layer. In the study, “Is the agenda list positioned as a cyber public space of Turkey with a macro dimension during the coronavirus quarantine days, is it a political arena or is it an urban interaction space?” search for an answer to the question. In order to answer this question of the study, first of all, the views on the public sphere were examined within the framework of thinkers such as Habermas, Arendt, Fraser, Negt, Kluge, Sennett, Wirth, Simmel. Then, a general framework was drawn by referring to the relationship between the public sphere and the media. In the application part of the study, a total of 300 agenda topics were classified in the first 30 days of the coronavirus quarantine period, and in this context, a qualitative analysis was made on the Twitter Turkey agenda and the nature of the public space in this period was discussed. According to the results of this study; When Twitter Turkey is examined with a macro dimension during the coronavirus days, it is seen that users both talk about political issues and interact on other issues in its virtual wide streets, and in this respect, it can be considered as a very exclusive public space."
We congratulate Res. Asst. Ayten Bengisu Cansever and wish her success in her academic studies.
