Slow Watching in the Age of Binge and Reels: Young Audiences of Turkish TV Dramas


Özyılmaz Ö., Celik Rappas I. A.

Television and New Media, 2026 (AHCI, SSCI, Scopus) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Basım Tarihi: 2026
  • Doi Numarası: 10.1177/15274764261437240
  • Dergi Adı: Television and New Media
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Arts and Humanities Citation Index (AHCI), Social Sciences Citation Index (SSCI), Scopus, ComAbstracts, Communication Abstracts, Film & Television Literature Index, Political Science Complete, Public Affairs Index, Political Science Abstract (IPSA), EBSCO Communication Source, Academic Search Ultimate (EBSCO), Communication Source (EBSCO), Sociology Source Ultimate (EBSCO)
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: media and multitasking, media temporality, slow watching, Turkish TV dramas, TV and nostalgia, young audiences
  • İstanbul Kent Üniversitesi Adresli: Hayır

Özet

This article explores how young audiences in Turkey engage with the slow temporality of Turkish TV dramas (dizis) amid an era dominated by binge-watching and short-form video culture. While streaming platforms promote fast-paced, compressed narratives, Turkish dramas retain exceptionally long episodes—often exceeding 150 minutes. Drawing on focus groups with university students, the study examines how young viewers negotiate these extended durations. Rather than dismissing linear television as outdated, participants integrate slow-paced series into daily routines, family rituals, and nostalgic attachments, turning them into temporal infrastructures of care and belonging. The article argues that slow watching functions as both a mode of attention and a cultural practice that reclaims time from the acceleration of digital media, positioning dizi viewing as a form of shared affect, continuity, and subtle cultural resistance against the moralism and homogeneity of contemporary Turkish television.