Transformation of identities in the age of liquid modernity

The concept of identity, which has found its place in social theory since the beginning of the modern era, continues to retain its importance today. In today's world, transformations caused by modernization, especially globalization, have also had an impact on identity. The hollowing out of identities and the loss of affiliations in what is also referred to as the post-modernization period or the era of liquid modernity constitute the main subject of the thesis. In the liquid modern period, everything "solid" has transformed into a "fluid" form. This transformation weakens individuals' connections with social structures, causing identity to cease being a fixed and continous construct. This study aims to analyze the effects of this transformation on people's affiliations with the identities they define themselves by. The conceptual and theoretical framework of the study includes identity, the historical transformation of identity, the concept of liquid modernity, and the processes that prepare the ground for the transformation of identity in liquid modernity. The study was conducted based on qualitative research methods. In-depth interviews were carried out with a sample group divided into two groups based on average age, using a semi-structured questionnaire form. The data obtained from the interviews were evaluated using descriptive analysis and interpretative approaches. The assessment within the scope of political, religious and ethnic identities addressed by the research, has shown that people's affiliations to their identities have suffered a loss of meaning and have diminished as a result of the changes and transformations brought about by the liquid modern age. This situation leads individuals to reconstruct their identities in a more flexible, temporary and preference-based manner, while a sense of belonging is replaced by uncertainty and fluidity between identities.