Conservative Turkish women's seeking for identity and perception of values under the influence of performance society and social media

It was aimed to examine the identity search and value perception of conservative Turkish women under the influence of spectacle society and social media in this study. Many technological developments that have changed the structures of societies have also deeply affected individuals' identities and value judgments. In particular, the spread of social media and people's transfer of their daily life habits to digital have led to significant transformations in the social identity and value perceptions of conservative women. Although the concept of conservatism emerged as a reaction movement focused on protecting existing social values and norms, modernization and digitalization processes have changed the meaning and application forms of conservatism. While the traditionally conservative image of women mostly portrays an introverted perspective, women's perspectives have changed on social media platforms and they have begun to show their search for a more distinct identity through these platforms. Within the scope of this thesis, 21 images/videos obtained from social media platforms were examined under 8 topics using Roland Barthes' semiotic method. According to the results of the research, it appears that there are efforts to form an aesthetic and ideological synthesis between traditional conservatism and modern lifestyle. Religious symbols such as the headscarf have been transformed into an identity performance by blending with modern consumer culture and social media aesthetics. Social media platforms, in particular, have weakened the perception of privacy by increasing individuals' search for visibility. While this process caused conservative women to re-evaluate their religious and traditional values, it also caused an identity crisis. Another important finding of the research is that conservative women, under the influence of spectacle society and social media, are dragged into an identity crisis as their value perceptions deteriorate. This situation leads conservative Turkish women to seek a new identity. This orientation shows that conservative women experience an "identity migration" in their search for identity and value perception, and that this migration leads to a conflict between conservatism and secular understanding. It can make an innovative contribution to the literature in this field with a comprehensive perspective by providing important information for a deeper understanding of conservative women's digital identity performances and social transformation processes.