Humor in the digital age: The case of "Var Böyle Tipler" Instagram accounts

The concept of humor, which has a history as deep as the history of humanity, has been shaped according to the characteristics of the society and geography from the past to the present, and has gained new appearances as a result of the changes and transformations. Nowadays, the revolutionary transformations in information and communication technologies have enabled humor to gain new expression forms and environments. In this context, traditional humor contents have been transferred to virtual environments, and in addition to this, new forms of humor created through digital technologies have also emerged. The user-based feature of digital media has created an environment where ordinary users can also contribute to the production and sharing of humor content. Humor; in addition to cartoon magazines, it has also been published on digital platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. By getting rid of the limitations such as time, space and cost, virtual networks have both ensured the spread of humor on a global scale and diversified its sources. The content shared on social media, which has become a part of our daily life, is transformed by different users with new interpretations, fiction, expressions and digital tools and is shaped with new understandings. The reproduction and sharing of content and the access of all internet users to these contents have created new resources for the field of humor. The aim of this study is to reveal the transformations and basic dynamics of digital technologies in the field of humor. In this context, the posts shared on 'Var Böyle Tipler' Instagram account were analyzed using the discourse analysis method. In addition, visual elements were also analyzed in order to reveal the humorous context created, and it was revealed how the new media affected humor. According to the findings; It has been observed that the humor created in the 'Var Böyle Tipler' account has developed as a result of the services offered by the new media environments, created by an ordinary user with new techniques and expression forms and shared with large masses in digital environments.