Slow Watching in the Age of Binge and Reels

Young Audiences of Turkish TV Dramas

Bibliographic Data

ID19225314
AuthorsÖzge Özyılmaz (0000-0003-0444-8622, Istanbul Kent University), Ipek A Celik Rappas (0000-0002-3033-5835, Koç University, corresponding author)
Year2026
Publication date2026-05-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueTelevision & New Media (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1527-4764 • E-ISSN: 1552-8316
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/15274764261437240
OpenAlexW7160197708
LanguageEN
References cited34

This article explores how young audiences in Turkey engage with the slow temporality of Turkish TV dramas ( dizi s) 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 Rather than dismissing linear television as outdated, participants integrate slow-paced series into daily routines, family rituals, and nostalgic attachments, turning them into temporal infrastructures of care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

Hybridity · Morality · Negotiation · Temporality · The Internet · Turkish · Gender, Feminism, and Media · Media Studies and Communication · Turkey's Politics and Society

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