Abstract
The digital culture created by the new media shows itself in most of today's everyday life practices. Displacing the social structure, the digital culture also led to the digitalization of labor. In fact, while many products can be sold through Instagram today in Turkey, there are lots of accounts (pages) where handmade products (blankets, baby clothes, bags, pencil cases, etc.) are sold and many women who contribute to family budget, as well. Thus, the subject of this research is to study the knitting accounts which belong to the women making sales through Instagram. That way, it has been aimed to understand that how labor becomes digitalized by Instagram. The accounts which are making sales through Instagram and will be studied in the research are as follows: orgu.battaniyemmm, bebek_orgu_evi, and orgu_sepeti. Within the scope of this research, semi-structured in-depth interviews will be made with the owners of mentioned accounts, and through these accounts, it will be revealed that how digital culture makes labor a commodity and how digitalizes it.
TopDigital Culture
The new media has become widespread in recent years and has brought new communication possibilities like Social Network Service (SNS) and Smart Phones to our lives. The new media, which generate new technologies and new communication opportunities (Chang, 2014) for the disadvantaged segments in society (hearing impaired, elderly etc.), have gained momentum with globalization and create new media environments (Vaagan, 2008, Abrahamson, 2000), a new culture “Digital culture” (Darley, 2000). Today, many new media tools such as movies, games, videos are presenting digital culture.
Key Terms in this Chapter
User: User is who uses new media environments. “User” as a concept has been added as a new subject to the trinity of reader, listener, audience in traditional media.
Online Sales: Online sales are the sale of goods, products or services via online channels, internet environments.
Digital Culture: It refers to the cultural influence of new media environments and digitalization process. According to some approaches, digital cultures have emerged with new media phenomenon.
Labor: It's the power, effort you spend on a job. It has quite digitalized with new media environments in these days.
Sales: Sales is the act of selling a commodity, labor, product, or service with tangible expectation.
Knitting: Especially women make it. They use various knit yarns and knitting needles to do knittings. Knitting is an activity, therapy for women. Sometimes it is a hobby. Sometimes, it aims at the contribution to the home economy.
Culture: Culture, which is the cornerstone of the societies, is what they have and learn in the historical process. Culture contains traditions, social doctrines, values, and precepts.
Instagram: It is an application that allows users to share images, photos, and videos. Instagram is very popular around the world.