Abstract:

Neoliberal governmentality departs from previous governance approaches that exerted domination over society primarily through bodily control of individuals. Here, the control of individuals' psychological space is of greater significance in terms of power. Control and shaping of the psychological realm of individuals are predominantly achieved through the approaches of positive psychology and personal development. Through these approaches, individuals' feelings, thoughts, and ways of life are directed, and individuals are transformed into functional subjects from the perspective of the neoliberal system. Popular social media platforms like Instagram, which have become an integral part of individual and societal life today, provide a significant foundation for this process of subject construction through narratives created within the framework of positive psychology and personal development. This study aims to reveal how neoliberal governance strategies operate through social media content and how they address individuals through a narrative of subjectivity. In pursuit of this objective, the Instagram platform, which was chosen as the research universe, included personal development and positive psychology-themed pages, with the most followers selected as the sample, namely "pozitifdusuncem" and "motivasyon.evi." A total of eighty-five posts were analyzed through qualitative (thematic) content analysis. The findings indicate that the messages shared on these pages tend to individualize individuals by isolating them from the societal context. The messages generally idealize an understanding of an individual who believes they are solely responsible for their own life, becomes apolitical by disregarding dynamics beyond their control, is success-oriented, happy, optimistic, constantly investing in their own development, living life by focusing on themselves, and shaping their relationships with others from this perspective.

Keywords: