The new actors of the spectacle society: Youtubers

This study aims to understand and analyse the increasing impact of YouTubers by investigating the content and its production process in relation to spectacle. The spectacle society defines the social order in which everything is defined by its spectacle value and visibility value. The spectacle which reconstruct the reality, simulate the reality and replace the certainty and reality with simulacrum that turns it to product of culture industry. In this study which focuses on YouTubers, the content production process and the characteristics of the content are analysed to understand their link to spectacle. Therefore, the qualitative content analysis method is employed. 15 videos from 15 YouTubers who produce different content and have different number of subscribers were selected and the data is gathered by content analysis. This study demonstrates that YouTubers' main motive is earning income, the content differentiates between channels in accordance the number of subscribers, and private life is constructed as an entertainment product. YouTubers are impacting and being impacted by the spectacle culture which reflects its culture through all spectacle content; and at the same time, YouTubers are reproducing this culture. Spectacle culture is leading to lifestyles that are superficially constructed around entertainment. Aiming to earn income via spectacle culture features the commodification dimension of spectacle. Thus, Internalisation of this culture makes easier to be an extension of the capitalist reality.