"Out of 'the community', at the keyboard": The social life of imam and preacher schools' studentsand their social media usage

Abstract

This study is about the change of social life and social media experiences of a sample chosen from the Imam and Preacher School (IPS) between 2011-2016. The method of this study is ethnographic based upon a longitudinal research; in the first stage there has been 30 interviews with the students of prominent three IPS in Istanbul, in 2011. In the second stage, in 2016, the research has been renewed with the different students and is composed of 60 interviews. The research looks at the social impact of being an IPS student, besides how these students use the social media and manifestation of this social belonging in the social media. In the previous five years, there have been some changes in education level, numbers of IPS, demography of students, coeducation and the coefficients for the university applying. In this process of change, what come forward in terms of the social life of IPS students, is a tendency among them in defining themselves different than their peers in other schools, especially in moral terms. It is an outstanding result that the participants can express themselves better under their social media avatars. But also, the research shows up that, their conscious of belonging can be detected in the social media shares and demeanors. It is noteworthy in the context of comparison between the two groups; the 2011 group was statistically more idealist whereas the 2016 group was more self-confident.