scholarly journals Talking to the Visuals: Exploring Ideology of Generations through Semiotic Landscape of Whatsapp Statuses

Author(s):  
Mehreen Zafar ◽  
Dr. Muhammad Ahsan ◽  
Muhammad Naeem

Whatsapp statuses are an example of computer-mediated communication. The current qualitative and quantitative study aims to explore the ideology of Whatsapp users and highlight the differences among the generations through the semiotic landscape of Whatsapp statuses. The analytical tools of “David Machin and Andrea Mayr” (2012) and theoretical principles of “Kress and Leeuwen” (1996) helped to analyze the multimodal discourse of WhatsApp statuses. A survey was also conducted to know the stance of Whatsapp users. Multimodal Critical Discourse Analysis (MCDA) of 630 Whatsapp statuses of 90 participants in social semiotics represented Post-Millennials, Millennials, and Generation X with clear differences in their ideologies. The differences are louder for gaze, distance, iconography, colors, vector, angle, and frames. The results of the survey show that Post-Millennial give much value to Whatsapp statuses as 92% of them display statuses daily. All three generations have quite separate reasons to use Whatsapp statuses; only informing others is the common reason between Millennials and Generation X. Basically, the users of Whatsapp statuses are the social actors who represent their cognitive meanings socially.

2017 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 372-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Stevenson Won ◽  
Ketaki Shriram ◽  
Diana I. Tamir

Proximity, or spatial closeness, can generate social closeness—the closer people are together, the more they interact, affiliate, and befriend one another. Mediated communication allows people to bridge spatial distance and can increase social closeness between conversational partners, even when they are separated by distance. However, mediated communication may not always make people feel closer together. Here, we test a hypothesis derived from construal theory, about one way in which mediated communication might increase spatial distance, by imposing social distance between two texting partners. In three studies, the social distance generated by a text conversation correlated with estimates of spatial distance. Conversations designed to generate social distance increased estimates of spatial distance. We discuss this relationship in light of the rise in computer-mediated communication.


Author(s):  
Samantha Stinson ◽  
Debora Jeske

Computer-mediated communication offers a range of potentially appealing features, including selective self-presentation, social presence control, and simultaneous as well as asynchronous interaction tools. The study examines the influence of personality (introversion and extraversion) and personal variables (social anxiety and public self-consciousness) on online dating preferences from two competing perspectives: the “social compensation” (SC) hypothesis and the “rich-get-richer” (RGR) hypothesis. Survey results (N = 162) revealed that the SC and RGR hypotheses do not hold true within the context of online dating. The findings suggest a stronger role of social influence (e.g., peers) in the decision to online date. The SC and RGR hypotheses may be limited in terms of the extent to which these frameworks adequately explain this online behavior. This may also be due to the increasing popularity of online dating sites, which may make personality and personal traits less informative of whether individuals will opt to use such services.


Author(s):  
Jung-ran Park

This chapter examines the way online language users enhance social interaction and group collaboration through the computer mediated communication (CMC) channel. For this, discourse analysis based on the linguistic politeness theoretical framework is applied to the transcripts of a real time online chat. Analysis of the data shows that online participants employ a variety of creative devices to signal nonverbal communication cues that serve to build interpersonal solidarity and rapport, as well as by seeking common ground and by expressing agreement online participants increase mutual understanding and harmonious social interaction. This sets the tone of positive interpersonal relationships and decreases the social distance among participants. In turn, this engenders solidarity and proximity, which enhances social interaction through the CMC channel.


2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (4) ◽  
pp. 483-502
Author(s):  
Leticia-Tian Zhang ◽  
Daniel Cassany

Although coherence has been widely studied in computer-mediated communication (CMC), insufficient attention has been paid to emergent multimodal forms. This study analyzes a popular commentary system on Chinese and Japanese video-sharing sites – known as danmu or danmaku – where anonymous comments are superimposed on and scroll across the video frame. Through content and multimodal discourse analysis, we unpack danmu-mediated communication analyzing the newest interface (on Bilibili.com), the comments, the interpersonal interactions and the unusual use of the second-person pronoun. Results show that despite the technological constraints (hidden authorship, unmarked sending date and lack of options to structure comments), users construct order in interactions through repetition, danmu-specific expressions and multimodal references, while using playful language to make fun. This study provides an up-to-date analysis on an increasingly popular CMC medium beyond well-studied social networking sites, and broadens the understanding of coherence in contemporary CMC.


2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (3) ◽  
pp. 393-413 ◽  
Author(s):  
Veera Ehrlén

This case study examines contemporary recreational sports practitioners’ communication practices and social tie formation from the perspective of two lifestyle sports disciplines: climbing and trail running. Online survey results from 301 climbers and trail runners from Finland indicate that computer-mediated communication (CMC) has established its place in recreational lifestyle sports cultures; however, it has not done it at the expense of face-to-face (FtF) communication. Online interaction produces weak social ties with instrumental and informative value, but physical location is essential in establishing ties with emotional and appraisal value. This paper argues that it is the sports subculture and individual practitioners’ needs that define how interaction is realized, and what importance different online and off-line communication practices have. Besides studying communication practices, this case study explores the social meanings practitioners attribute to their social contacts.


2021 ◽  
Vol 6 (5) ◽  
Author(s):  
Othman Ismail ◽  
Adlin Nadhirah binti Mohd Roslan ◽  
Malissa Maria Mahmud

This research proffers a critical overview of the theoretical and analytical occurrence of code-switching by reviewing a range of empirical and relevant studies. In particular, the dominating and governing factor of computer-mediated communication and code-switching. This research also probes the pertinent concepts, focusing on the types of code-switching and its correlation with computer mediated communication. Subsequently, it reviews the structural features of WhatsApp, deliberating the occurrence of code-switching among UiTM undergraduates in Malaysia, noting the social motivation of style-shifting. The research concludes with recommendations for future research, emphasising on the issue of its applicability to the analysis of second language acquisition and learning. <p> </p><p><strong> Article visualizations:</strong></p><p><img src="/-counters-/edu_01/0950/a.php" alt="Hit counter" /></p>


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 405-415
Author(s):  
I. Darginavičienė ◽  
I. Ignotaitė

Most authors admit that code-switching is the process of switching different languages, their varieties, speaking styles, etc. Today the majority of people in the world are multilingual and often mix languages in different ways, which makes code-switching a quite common global phenomenon. Code-switching incorporates government, cultural, religious and network contexts, and the frequency of code-switching in such multilingual conversations is an indicator of the global dominance of multilingualism. Online communication fosters social communicative practices consisting of code-switching and marks the development of verbal behaviour of multilingual communities. Code-switching also affects language visuality, its images are tools for the social construction of reality. The developed verbal practices support effective communication and affect the expression of new meanings. The article aims at presenting the features of code-switching in digital communication with 8 examples of different length, topic and author, in which the native Lithuanians code-switched to English and used elements of the Internet language. These examples were taken from the social networks Instagram, YouTube, Facebook and Twitter, and the authors analyzed the grammar, spelling and punctuation of both Lithuanian and the English words, the type and use of the code-switched English elements, special characters, abbreviations, emoji and other features of the Internet language. The results show that online communication is not entirely textual, with various means of text composition communicators make their code-switched English elements more visible and alter the appearance of messages. Such practices correspond to the features of social networks and seem to follow the popular Internet culture trends.


2018 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
pp. 35
Author(s):  
Gideon Rambaya Magwaro ◽  
Elizabeth Odhiambo ◽  
Silas Owala

Facebook (FB) is one of the social networks that allow its users to interact freely by posting short messages, pictures and videos. FB has a forum where people write and post their opinions, pictures and videos to see their friends’ reactions. FB also allows anonymity thus giving users the freedom to use a language of their choice without restrictions. Given the fact that FB is an informal context, users employ certain patterns of language in their interactions. This paper endeavors to examine the manner in which these patterns of language are used on FB with special focus on Kiswahili language. Kiswahili is now an official language in Kenya and there is a paradigm shift concerning patterns of texts that are sent on FB interaction. The objective of the study was to analyze the linguistic features used in selected social interactions on FB (SSIFB). The units of analysis in this study were texts that were sent as reactions to the news and pictures that were posted on the FB forums such as those collected from pages like Citizen TV Kenya, KTN Kenya and Mpasho News. The data of this study was analyzed qualitatively by coding every text based on its content. The study employed the use of Computer Mediated Communication (CMC) as proposed by Hiltz and Turoff (1978) to interpret and give inferences about the texts that were sent. The study revealed that FB users used the language of their choice creatively to communicate. Various linguistic features were used to communicate intended messages.


Author(s):  
Youjeong Kim

In computer-mediated communication (CMC) environments, users utilize their avatars as a communication channel to interact and connect with others, and they choose and create them accordingly to represent their self. As such, several major question areas arise: 1) As an extension of identity, how does a user customize his/her avatar? How is the avatar's appearance related to the avatar creator's self-concept? 2) How does avatar creation influence the avatar creator's psychological and behavioral consequences? To answer these questions, the current study leveraged a Korean social networking site, which currently provides avatars called “Minimis,” in a randomized experimental setting. This study found that the more the participants perceived their avatars to look like their desired selves, the more likely they evaluated their avatars as being attractive, credible, confident, cool, capable, and persuasive, but failed to find a significant relationship between avatar users' perceptions toward self-created avatars and their attitudes toward the social network site or ads.. The limitations and implications will be discussed.


Author(s):  
Taemie Kim

Distributed collaborations tend to have different communication patterns and performances compared to co-located collaborations. This chapter proposes using sociometric feedback to understand and help distributed collaborations. The proposed system uses sociometric badges to automatically detect communication behaviors of groups and uses the information to provide real-time visual feedback. The goal of the feedback system is to encourage cooperation and furthermore improve the performance of both individuals and groups. This system could allow distributed collaborations to be more similar to co-located collaborations since it can sense and reintroduce the social signals lost in computer mediated communication. The chapter presents the results of two experimental laboratory studies that examine the effectiveness of the system. Results show that real-time sociometric feedback changes not only the communication patterns of distributed groups but also their performance, making it similar to that of co-located groups.


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