A Critical Examination of Emotional Labour and Emotional Capital in Social Media Interaction

Fuat Boğaç Evren

doi:10.25038/am.v0i28.626

Authors

Fuat Boğaç Evren Department of Visual Communication Design, Near East University, Nicosia

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25038/am.v0i28.626

Keywords:

emotional labour; digital labour; emotional capital; digital culture; digital sociology.

Abstract

This study examines the concepts of emotional labour and emotional capital in the digital space. Drawing on Arlie Hochschild’s theory of emotional labour, it discusses how users apply their emotional expressions in social networks as a performative act that produces social capital, economic value and algorithmic visibility. At this point, Pierre Bourdieu’s sociological theories provide a framework for analyzing the effects of digital emotional labour on field-specific power dynamics and social stratification. The study explores how emotional capital accumulates, circulates and transforms into other forms of capital in social networks. It examines how inequalities in the digital space are reinforced through algorithmic governance and capitalist structures, and critically evaluates the role of digital labour in the capital accumulation process. It is concluded that digital labour commodifies users and transforms them into a mechanism that reproduces social inequalities.

Author Biography

Fuat Boğaç Evren, Department of Visual Communication Design, Near East University, Nicosia

Fuat Boğaç Evren was born in Ankara in 1991. In 2013, he completed his undergraduate education at Near East University, Faculty of Communication, Department of Visual Communication Design. He completed his Master’s degree in 2016 and his PhD in 2022 at Near East University, Department of Media and Communication Studies. Since the Fall semester of 2013/14, he has worked as a research assistant and lecturer at the Department of Visual Communication Design, Faculty of Communication, Near East University. At the start of the 2024/25 Fall semester, he was appointed as an Assistant Professor and fulfills his responsibilities in the Department of Visual Communication Design as a faculty member. He is interested in society 5.0, digital sociology, digital culture and the history of civilization.

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A Critical Examination of Emotional Labour and Emotional Capital in Social Media Interaction

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Author Biography

Fuat Boğaç Evren, Department of Visual Communication Design, Near East University, Nicosia

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