Browsing by Author "Cobek, Gozde"

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Citation Count: 0
Cruel optimism of waiting: precarity experiences of young adults in Turkey
(Routledge Journals, Taylor & Francis Ltd, 2023) Cöbek, Gözde; Kucuk, Bermal; Cobek, Gozde; Bayram, Sidar; Cemalcilar, Zeynep
This paper examines young adults' everyday experiences of precarity. Defining precarity as a socioeconomic and affective condition, it offers waiting as an analytical tool to explore the intersection of precarity and the family as a locus of social security and dependency. Based on the in-depth interviews with young adults (N = 52), it investigates the affective and temporal dimensions of precarity that play out in the waiting practices of young adults in Turkey. Focusing on these practices, we show how conditions of precarity foster an entrepreneurial mindset and never-ending self-enterprise while establishing forms of cruel attachments and dependencies. Following Berlant's notion of cruel optimism, we demonstrate how young adults become paradoxically dependent on their familial bonds and temporary job market to become independent individuals. We conclude that the family as an agent of individualization and normalization of precarity (re-)emerges as the backbone of neoliberal restructuring. However, such familial bonds within the context of fragmented biographies reinforce cruel attachments in which sustaining the aspirations for independence makes precarious young adults more dependent on their families.
Citation Count: 0
Nationwide research on the uses and motivations of dating apps by young adults in the cultural environment of Turkey
(Sage Publications inc, 2023) Audry, Aylin Sunam; Baş, Özen; İnceoğlu, İrem; Cöbek, Gözde; Cobek, Gozde; Alkurt, Saygin Vedat
Since Tinder's worldwide popularity, location-based dating apps have become widespread. The existing literature mainly focuses on a single app in European and US contexts and pays little attention to other cultural contexts. This paper addresses this gap by examining dating app choices and motivations of young adults (18-29 years old) in Turkey. It examines the intersectionality of socio-demographic variables in a cultural setting that is quite different not only from European and US contexts but also from other Muslim-majority contexts. Deriving from the nationally representative survey (n = 1,498), our research finds statistically significant differences in dating app preferences and adults' motivations regarding location, sexual, gender, and religious identities. This study underlines the crucial role of cultural geography and its social fabric in mobile dating, even within the same national setting.