Workshop on Alternative Ways of Participation. 7th and 8th of February 2014 in Istanbul http://www.sebeke.org.tr/

1. Prof. Aslı Tunç
February 7, 2014
Social Media, A New Public
Sphere?

2. Some Numbers

3. Some Numbers
 With 14 million Twitter users and 40 % Twitter
penetration among internet users (~36 million) .
 The number of Facebook members in Turkey is
35million.
 Turkey has the biggest proportion of young
internet users (aged 15-24) in Europe, whilst
Germany has the largest share of older users
(aged 55+).
 Turkey is the 13th largest global online population
and 6th largest in Europe. 60 percent of the
Turkish online population goes online every day.

4. Before Gezi Park Protests
 The research conducted by KONDA
between May 4-5 May in 34 cities
 A face to face survey
 2585 participants as sample

5. Internet is harmful rather than useful
2.5
2.6
2.8
3.1
3.2
3.2
3.4
3.4
3.5
3.4
3.3
3.1
3.0
2.6
3.2
2.9
2.4
3.0
3.2
3.3
2.8
3.2
3.5
3.2
1 3 5
Sürekli açık zaten
Günde 3 saatten fazla
Günde 2-3 saat
Günde 1 saat veya daha az
2-3 günde bir
Haftada bir
Daha nadir
Hiçbir zaman
3001 TL'den fazla
2001 - 3000 TL
1201 - 2000 TL
701 - 1200 TL
301 - 700 TL
300 TL'den az
Lise altı
Lise
Üniversite
18 - 28 yaş
29 - 43 yaş
44+ yaş
Modern
Geleneksel muhafazakâr
Dindar muhafazakâr
Türkiye
İnternetegirmesıklığıGelirEğitimYaşHayattarzı

6. State should guarantee freedom of
expression
 Absolutely wrong: 2,2 %
 Wrong: 8,5 %
 Neutral: 19,6 %
 Right: 52,7 %
 Absolutely right: 16,9 %

7. State should block access to certain
sites if necessary
 Absolutely wrong: 6,6 %
 Wrong: 15 %
 Neutral: 12,6 %
 Right: 52,9 %
 Absolutely right: 12,9 %

8. State should block access to certain
sites on the Internet
3.7
3.7
3.7
3.9
3.9
3.8
3.8
3.7
3.6
3.6
3.7
3.7
3.8
3.9
3.7
3.8
3.7
3.6
3.8
3.8
3.8
3.7
3.7
3.7
1 3 5
Sürekli açık zaten
Günde 3 saatten fazla
Günde 2-3 saat
Günde 1 saat veya daha az
2-3 günde bir
Haftada bir
Daha nadir
Hiçbir zaman
3001 TL'den fazla
2001 - 3000 TL
1201 - 2000 TL
701 - 1200 TL
301 - 700 TL
300 TL'den az
Lise altı
Lise
Üniversite
18 - 28 yaş
29 - 43 yaş
44+ yaş
Modern
Geleneksel muhafazakâr
Dindar muhafazakâr
Türkiye
İnternetegirmesıklığıGelirEğitimYaşHayattarzı

9. I can find news on Twitter that Newspapers and Television
Channels Ignore
2
2
3
4
5
6
13.2
23.7
33.6
64.5
58.4
49.3
16.7
10.8
8.6
% 0 % 50 % 100
Twitter
kullanıcıları
İnternet
kullanıcıları
Türkiye
Kesinlikle yanlış Yanlış Ne doğru ne yanlış Doğru Kesinlikle doğru

10. Participation in Political Discussions
Online
47
53
17
18
18
17
13
9
6
3
0 50 100
2013
2011
Hiçbir zaman Nadiren Bazen Sık sık Her zaman

11. GEZİ PARKI 6-7 HAZİRAN 2013
Gezi Park Research
June 6-7 2013
Interview with 4411 people in the Park
Total 30 interview hours
Research

12. GEZİ PARKI 6-7 HAZİRAN 2013
Gezi Parkı Araştırması
İlk haberi nereden aldılar?
26:
Sosyal medyadan
duyanların yaş
ortalaması
40:
Televizyondan
duyanların yaş
ortalaması
15.4 69.0 8.6 7.0
% 0 % 50 % 100
Arkadaş, tanıdık Sosyal medya İnternet haber siteleri Televizyon
NEDEN
PARKTALAR
?

13. GEZİ PARKI 6-7 HAZİRAN 2013
Gezi Park Research
How did they use social media?
84.6 8.0 7.5
% 0 % 50 % 100
Evet, paylaştım Hayır, üyeyim ama paylaşmadım Hayır, hiçbirine üye değilim.
The earlier they
come, the more
social use.
Why are
they in Park?

14. GEZİ PARKI 6-7 HAZİRAN 2013
Gezi Park Research
Age / Gender
Demographics
0%
1%
2%
3%
4%
5%
6%
7%
8%
17-
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35
36
37
38
39
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
47
48
49
50
51
52
53
54
55
56
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71+
Age Distribution in the Park
Gezi Parkı'ndakiler
İstanbul'da yaşayanlar
Kadın,
50.8
Erkek,
49.2
28: Average Age

15. Final Thoughts
 During Gezi Park, young people took on valued
roles, addressing issues that were relevant to
them, and influencing real outcomes.
 After Gezi and the recent corruption cases,
young people have doubts about their
engagement’s influencing real outcomes.
 The use of social media should be one
engagement tool to complement others such as
face to face.

16. The challenges
 As the local election approaches, it is important to
realize how young people, especially youth from
different ideological backgrounds, are using new
media to amplify their voices in the political realm.
 Especially Twitter became a new outlet for young
people in terms of participatory politics spreading
information, mobilizing for action and raising their
voices during Gezi.
 However, with the government’s attempts to
muzzle the opposition on the Internet, what will
be the next steps to create a new public sphere?