The Relationship Between Desire to be Popular on Social Media and Moral Values: The Case of TikTok

Eyyüp Korkunç; Aslı Aydemir

Makale detayları

The Relationship Between Desire to be Popular on Social Media and Moral Values: The Case of TikTok

Yazarlar:

Eyyüp Korkunç | Aslı Aydemir

Yayıncı:

Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University

Ana Başlıklar:

İletişim Çalışmaları

Dergi:

İletişim Kuram ve Araştırma Dergisi Issue 69, pp.21-44

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

3/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001342701

pISSN:

2147-4524

Anahtar kelimeler:

Özet:

 In todays digital age, social media environments have become the main means for individuals to express themselves, build communities and open up to the world. Especially in the young and middle age group, social media use is more common, and applications such as YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp are mostly used. In recent years, TikTok, which stands out among these platforms, has left a distinct mark on popular culture by attracting the attention of millions of users with its short video content. However, the wide access and communication opportunities offered by TikTok can sometimes create situations that contradict moral values. In particular, users aim to increase the number of likes and followers by sharing aesthetic or attractive body images. This situation may have some negative consequences on the general moral values of individuals and society. From this point of view, this study aims to examine the complex relationship between moral values and the posts made with the desire to be popular on TikTok and to examine the reflections of these dynamics on individual and social ethics in detail. Within the framework of this purpose, videos, which are audio and visual documents, were collected as data with the document analysis method, which is a qualitative analysis method. In this context, using the purposive sampling technique, which is one of the non-random non-random sampling methods, 2 accounts were selected from the public accounts in TikTok application and 3 posts of each account were analysed. As a result of the analysis, it was seen that users do not hesitate to expose their bodies and private lives in order to gain followers on social media applications, to be visible and thus to gain profit, and even normalise this situation. In this respect, it can be said that the higher the desire to be popular, the lower the commitment to moral values.

 In todays digital age, social media environments have become the main means for individuals to express themselves, build communities and open up to the world. Especially in the young and middle age group, social media use is more common, and applications such as YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp are mostly used. In recent years, TikTok, which stands out among these platforms, has left a distinct mark on popular culture by attracting the attention of millions of users with its short video content. However, the wide access and communication opportunities offered by TikTok can sometimes create situations that contradict moral values. In particular, users aim to increase the number of likes and followers by sharing aesthetic or attractive body images. This situation may have some negative consequences on the general moral values of individuals and society. From this point of view, this study aims to examine the complex relationship between moral values and the posts made with the desire to be popular on TikTok and to examine the reflections of these dynamics on individual and social ethics in detail. Within the framework of this purpose, videos, which are audio and visual documents, were collected as data with the document analysis method, which is a qualitative analysis method. In this context, using the purposive sampling technique, which is one of the non-random non-random sampling methods, 2 accounts were selected from the public accounts in TikTok application and 3 posts of each account were analysed. As a result of the analysis, it was seen that users do not hesitate to expose their bodies and private lives in order to gain followers on social media applications, to be visible and thus to gain profit, and even normalise this situation. In this respect, it can be said that the higher the desire to be popular, the lower the commitment to moral values.

 In todays digital age, social media environments have become the main means for individuals to express themselves, build communities and open up to the world. Especially in the young and middle age group, social media use is more common, and applications such as YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp are mostly used. In recent years, TikTok, which stands out among these platforms, has left a distinct mark on popular culture by attracting the attention of millions of users with its short video content. However, the wide access and communication opportunities offered by TikTok can sometimes create situations that contradict moral values. In particular, users aim to increase the number of likes and followers by sharing aesthetic or attractive body images. This situation may have some negative consequences on the general moral values of individuals and society. From this point of view, this study aims to examine the complex relationship between moral values and the posts made with the desire to be popular on TikTok and to examine the reflections of these dynamics on individual and social ethics in detail. Within the framework of this purpose, videos, which are audio and visual documents, were collected as data with the document analysis method, which is a qualitative analysis method. In this context, using the purposive sampling technique, which is one of the non-random non-random sampling methods, 2 accounts were selected from the public accounts in TikTok application and 3 posts of each account were analysed. As a result of the analysis, it was seen that users do not hesitate to expose their bodies and private lives in order to gain followers on social media applications, to be visible and thus to gain profit, and even normalise this situation. In this respect, it can be said that the higher the desire to be popular, the lower the commitment to moral values.

 Günümüz dijital çağında, sosyal medya ortamları, bireylerin kendilerini ifade etmelerinin, topluluklar kurabilmenin ve dünyaya açılmanın ana araçları haline gelmiştir. Özellikle de genç ve orta yaş grubunda sosyal medya kullanımı daha yaygın olmakla birlikte daha çok YouTube, Instagram, WhatsApp gibi uygulamalar kullanılmaktadır. Son yıllarda ise bu platformlar içinde öne çıkan TikTok, kısa video içeriği ile milyonlarca kullanıcının dikkatini çekerek popüler kültür üzerinde belirgin bir iz bırakmaktadır. Ancak, TikTokun sunmuş olduğu geniş erişim ve iletişim fırsatları, bazen ahlaki değerlerle çelişen durumlar da meydana getirebilmektedir. Özellikle kullanıcılar, estetik veya çekici beden imgeleri paylaşarak, beğeni ve takipçi sayılarını artırmayı hedeflemektedir. Bu durum, bireylerin ve toplumun genel ahlaki değerleri üzerinde bazı olumsuz sonuçlar oluşturabilmektedir. Bu noktadan hareketle bu çalışmada, TikTokta popüler olma arzusu ile yapılan paylaşımlar ile ahlaki değerler arasındaki karmaşık ilişkiyi incelemek ve bu dinamiklerin bireysel ve toplumsal etik üzerindeki yansımalarını detaylı bir şekilde ele almak amaçlanmıştır. Bu amaç çerçevesinde, nitel analiz yöntemi olan doküman analizi yöntemi ile sesli ve görsel dokümanlardan olan videolar veri olarak toplanmıştır. Bu kapsamda, rastgele olmayan tesadüfi olmayan örnekleme yöntemlerinden amaca yönelik örnekleme tekniği kullanılarak TikTok uygulamasında yer alan herkese açık hesaplardan 2 hesap seçilerek her hesabın 3 paylaşımı analiz edilmiştir. Analiz sonucunda, kullanıcıların sosyal medya uygulamalarında takipçi kazanmak, görünür olmak ve bu sayede de kazanç elde edebilmek için bedenlerini ve özel hayatlarını gözler önüne sermekten hiç çekinmediği hatta bu durumu normalleştirdiği görülmüştür. Bu bakımdan, popüler olma arzusu ne kadar yüksekse ahlaki değerlere bağlılığın o kadar düşük olduğu söylenebilmektedir.

Makale detayları

The Relationship Between Desire to be Popular on Social Media and Moral Values: The Case of TikTok

Yazarlar:

Eyyüp Korkunç | Aslı Aydemir

Yayıncı:

Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University

Ana Başlıklar:

İletişim Çalışmaları

Dergi:

İletişim Kuram ve Araştırma Dergisi Issue 69, pp.21-44

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

3/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001342701

pISSN:

2147-4524

Social Media

Moral Philosophy

Desire to be Popular

TikTok

Document AnalysisSosyal Medya

Ahlak Felsefesi

Popüler Olma Arzusu

TikTok

Doküman Analizi

Sayı

Makale detayları

Yazarlar: Eyyüp Korkunç | Aslı Aydemir

Yayıncı: Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University

Ana Başlıklar: İletişim Çalışmaları

Dergi: İletişim Kuram ve Araştırma Dergisi Issue 69, pp.21-44

Belge Tipi: Makale

Yayın Tarihi: 3/2025

Belge Dili: Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.): 2001342701

pISSN: 2147-4524

Sayı

Yazarlar:

Eyyüp Korkunç | Aslı Aydemir

Yayıncı:

Ankara Hacı Bayram Veli University

Ana Başlıklar:

İletişim Çalışmaları

Dergi:

İletişim Kuram ve Araştırma Dergisi Issue 69, pp.21-44

Belge Tipi:

Makale

Yayın Tarihi:

3/2025

Belge Dili:

Türkçe

Document ID (Org No.):

2001342701

pISSN:

2147-4524