PRECARITY OF DIGITAL LABOUR IN PLATFORM WORK: INSTAGRAM INFLUENCERS IN TÜRKİYE

Date

2025-8

Author

Urhan Güneş, Nesli

Metadata

Show full item record

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Item Usage Stats

5792
views

0
downloads

Cite This

This dissertation examines how Instagram influencers experience and navigate digital labour within the platform economy, with a focus on the socio-economic context of Türkiye. Theoretically, it draws on Christian Fuchs’ framework of digital labour and Brooke Erin Duffy’s concept of aspirational labour to operationalise influencer work as both economically exploitative and affectively demanding, with significant gendered and generational dimensions. Methodologically, the study adopts a qualitative approach, combining netnography with in-depth interviews conducted with 29 Instagram influencers and content creators in the post-pandemic period. The empirical analysis is structured around five interrelated themes: (1) Entry into Influencer Work and Motivation, (2) Labour Conditions and Monetisation, (3) Platform Rules and Algorithmic Control, (4) Gender and Identity, and (5) Industry Futures and Collective Labour. The findings indicate that influencers are attracted by the allure of creative autonomy, flexible scheduling, and digital visibility; however, they frequently encounter unstable income streams, opaque algorithmic systems, high emotional demands, and minimal institutional support. Situated within a national context marked by youth unemployment, gender disparities, and a rapid digital shift, the study highlights the pressing need for regulatory frameworks that formally recognise and protect platform-based labour. By centring influencer narratives, the dissertation contributes to broader discussions on the restructuring of work, underscoring how digital platforms are reshaping labour relations, precarity, and value production in contemporary economies.

Subject Keywords

platform economy, digital labour, influencer work, social media, Türkiye

URI

https://hdl.handle.net/11511/115441

Collections

Graduate School of Social Sciences, Thesis