Can interfaces and social profiles ‘speak without words’? Social platforms as ideological tools to shape identities and discourses


Abstract


User agency has been profoundly transformed since all the new digital practices and communicative exchanges are mediated, filtered and re-modelled through digital technologies thanks to the presence of the two potentialities of interactivity and connectivity. Most of the discursive practices represented in social media platforms are focused on processes of self-profiling. Additionally, pre-packaged identities and meanings are produced by multimodal discursive patterns that are generated by social network technologies. The co-deployment of different semiotic resources is regulated by the platform design, which combines multimodal artefacts uploaded by users with those pre-imposed by the interface architecture. So far, digital profiles have been almost exclusively investigated as new multimodal and multimedia digital texts. Our focus, instead, is on technology meant as a further and complex semiotic resource, and its meaning potential gives rise to hidden signs (metadata and algorithms) which are regulated by normative codes. What we are proposing in this theoretical contribution is a tentative framework that is grounded in an integrated view of textuality. Digital meaning is conveyed through texts but also via computational actions that, in turn, are triggered not only by users but also by platform technologies embodied by the interfaces. If we apply a further level of analysis, as suggested by the framework proposed, we realise that users are partially responsible for their identity construction. De facto, algorithmic relations mostly shape their agency, and this implies a new approach to the study of meaning-making processes in digital settings.

DOI Code: 10.1285/i22390359v58p43

Keywords: algorithms; multimodal discourse; self-profiling; social network platform; user agency

References


Adami E. 2015, What’s in a click? A social semiotic framework for the multimodal analysis of website interactivity, in “Visual Communication” Vol 14 [2], pp. 133-153.

Arola K. 2010, The design of Web 2.0: The rise of the template, the fall of design, in “Computers and Composition” 27, pp. 4-14.

Baym N. 1995, The emergence of community in Computer Mediated Communication, in Jones S.G. (ed.), Cybersociety: Computer Mediated Communication and Community, Sage, Thousand Oaks (CA), pp. 138-163.

Beer D. 2009, Power through the algorithm? Participatory web cultures and the technological unconscious, in “New Media & Society” 11 [6], pp. 985-1002.

Bettetini G., Gasparini B. and Vittadini N. 1999, Gli spazi dell’ipertesto, Bompiani, Milan.

Bolter J.D. 2001, Writing Space, Lawrence Erlbaum, Hillsdale (NJ).

Bourdieu P. 1986, The forms of capital, in Richardson J. (ed.), Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, Greenwood, New York (NY), pp. 241-58.

Bourdieu P. and Wacquant L. 1992, An Invitation to Reflexive Sociology, University of Chicago Press, Chicago (IL).

Bruns A. 2008, Blogs, Wikipedia, Second Life, and Beyond, Peter Lang, New York (NY).

Castells M. 1996, The Rise of the Network Society, Blackwell, Oxford.

Cheney-Lippold J. 2011, A New algorithmic identity. Soft biopolitics and the modulation of control, in “Theory, Culture & Society” 28 [6], pp.164-181.

Ciotti F. and Roncaglia G. 2007, Il mondo digitale, Laterza, Bari.

Danet B. 1998, Text as mask: Gender and identity on the Internet, in Jones S. (ed.), Cybersociety 2.0: Revisiting Computer Mediated Communication and Community, Sage, Thousand Oaks (CA), pp. 129-58.

Djonov E. and van Leeuwen T. 2012, Normativity and software: A multimodal social semiotic approach, in Norris S. (ed.), Multimodality and Practice: Investigating Theory-in-Practice-through-Method, Routledge, New York (NY), pp. 119-137.

Djonov E. and van Leeuwen T. 2013, Between the grid and composition: Layout in PowerPoint’s design and use, in “Semiotica” 197, pp. 1-34.

Djonov E. and van Leeuwen T. 2018, Social media as semiotic technology and social practice: the case of ResearchGate’s design and its potential to transform social practice, in “Social Semiotics” 28 [5], pp. 641-664.

Dubé L., Bourhis A. and Jacob R. 2006, Towards a typology of virtual communities of practice, in “Interdisciplinary Journal of Information, Knowledge, and Management” 1, pp. 69-93.

Fogg B.J. 2003, Persuasive Technology, Morgan Kaufmann, San Francisco (CA).

Fogg B. J. (ed.) 2009, Persuasive 2009. Proceeding of the 4the International Conference on Persuasive Technology. ‘A Behaviour Model for Persuasive Design’ April 2009 Claremont CA USA. http://bjfogg.com/fbm_files/page4_1.pdf (9.10.2021).

Foucault M. 1988, Technologies of the Self: A Seminar with Michel Foucault, edited by L. H. Martin, H. Gutman, P.H. Hutton, University of Massachusetts Press, Amherst (MA).

Fuller M. (ed.) 2008, Software Studies: A Lexicon. MIT Press, Cambridge (MA).

Galloway A.R. 2004, Protocol: How Power Exists after Decentralization, MIT Press, Cambridge (MA).

Gibson J.J. 1977, The theory of affordances, in Shaw R. and Bransford J. (eds.) Perceiving, Acting, and Knowing: Toward an Ecological Psychology, Erlbaum, Hillsdale (NJ), pp. 67-82.

Goffman E. 1959, The Presentation of the Self in Everyday Life, Anchor Books, New York (NY).

Haggerty K.D. and Ericson R.V. 2000, The surveillant assemblage, in “British Journal of Sociology” 51 [4], pp. 605-622.

Haggerty K.D. and Ericson R.V. 2006, The New Politics of Surveillance and Visibility, University of Toronto Press, Toronto.

Hammerich I. and Harrison C., 2002, Developing Online Content, Wiley Computer Publishing, New York (NY).

Herring S.C. 1996, Computer-Mediated Communication: Linguistic, Social, and Cross-cultural Perspectives, John Benjamins, Amsterdam.

Herring S.C. 2008, Virtual community, in Given L.M. (ed.), Encyclopedia of Qualitative Research Methods, Sage, Thousand Oaks (CA), pp. 920-921.

Herring S. and Kapidzic S. 2015, Teens, gender, and self-presentation in social media, in Wright J.D. (ed.), International Encyclopedia of Social and Behavioural Sciences, 2nd ed., Elsevier, Oxford, pp. 146-152.

Hsu C.L. and Lin J.C.C. 2016, An empirical examination of consumer adoption of Internet of Things services: Network externalities and concern for information privacy perspectives, in “Computers in Human Behavior” 62, pp. 516-527.

Iedema R.A.M. 2003, Multimodality, resemiotization: extending the analysis of discourse as multi-semiotic practice, in “Visual Communication” 2 [1], pp. 29-57.

Jenkins H. 2006, Convergence Culture: Where Old and New Media Collide, New York University Press, New York (NY).

Jenkins R. 2010, The 21st century interaction order, in Hviid Jacobsen M. (ed.), The Contemporary Goffman, Routledge, London, pp. 257-274.

Jewitt C., Bezemer J. and O’Halloran K. 2016, Introducing Multimodality, Routledge, London.

Jones R.H. 2015, Towards a sociolinguistics of surveillance. Video-lecture at the 6th International Language in the Media Conference, 7-9 September 2015, Universität Hamburg. https://lecture2go.uni-hamburg.de/l2go/-/get/v/18110 (15.8.2021).

Jones R.H. 2017, Surveillant landscapes, in “Linguistic landscapes” 3[2], pp. 149186.

Jones R.H. and Hafner C. A. 2012, Understanding Digital Literacies. A Practical Introduction, Routledge, London.

Kaplan A.M. and Haenlein M. 2010, Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media, in “Business Horizons” 53, pp. 59-68.

Kress G. and van Leeuwen T. 2001, Multimodal Discourse Analysis, Arnold, London.

Kress G. and van Leeuwen T. 2006, Reading Images. The Grammar of Visual Design, 2nd ed., Routledge, London.

Landow J.P. 1992, Hypertext 2.0, The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore (MD).

Lanier J. 2010, You Are Not a Gadget, Penguin, London.

Lemke J.L. 2002, Traversals in hypermodality, in “Visual Communication” 1[3], pp. 299-325.

LeVine P. and Scollon R. (eds.) 2004, Discourse and Technology: Multimodal Discourse Analysis, Georgetown University Press, Washington, DC.

Machin D. 2007, Introduction to Multimodal Analysis, Bloomsbury, New York (NY).

Mager A. 2012, Algorithmic ideology: How capitalist society shapes search engines, in “Information, Communication & Society”, 15 [5], pp. 769-787.

Manovich L. 2001, The Language of New Media, The MIT Press, Cambridge (MA).

McMillan S.J. 2009, Exploring models of interactivity from multiple research traditions: users, documents, and systems, in Lievrouw L. and Livingston S. (eds.) Handbook of New Media. Social Shaping and Social Consequences of ICTs. Updated Student Edition, Sage, London, pp. 205-229.

Mejias U. and Couldry N. 2019, Datafication, in “Internet Policy Review”, 8 [4]. https://policyreview.info/concepts/datafication (3.1.2021).

Moschini I. 2018, Social semiotics and platform studies: an integrated perspective for the study of social media platforms, in “Social Semiotics” 28 [5], pp. 623-640.

Moschini I. and Sindoni M.G. (eds.) 2021, Mediation and Multimodal Meaning Making in Digital Environments, Routledge, London.

Moschini I. 2022, The World as a Global Community? A Critical Multimodal Discourse Analysis of Facebook’s Institutional Communication and Technical Documentation, Effegi, Grosseto.

O’Halloran K.L., Tan S., Smith B.A. and Podlasov A. 2010, Challenges in designing digital interfaces for the study of multimodal phenomena, in “Information Design Journal” 18 [1], pp. 2-12.

Orlikowski W. and Yates J. 1998, Genre System: Structuring Interaction through Communication Norms, The MIT Press, Cambridge (MA).

Page R. 2012, The linguistics of self-branding and micro-celebrity in Twitter: The role of hashtags, in “Discourse & Communication” 6 [2], pp. 181-201.

Papacharissi, Z. (ed.) 2011, A Networked Self. Identity, Community, and Culture on Social Network Sites, Routledge, London.

Petroni S. 2011, Language in the Multimodal Web Domain, Aracne, Rome.

Petroni S. 2016, Digitality and persuasive technologies: New social actions and practices in digital settings, in Gardner S. and Alsop S. (eds.), Systemic Functional Linguistics in the Digital Age, Equinox, Sheffield, pp. 29-44.

Petroni S. 2019, How social media shape identities and discourses in professional digital settings: Self-communication or self-branding?, in Bou Franch P. and Blitvich P.G. (eds.), Multidisciplinary Research and Theoretical/Critical Reflection on Digital Discourse Analysis, Palgrave, London, pp. 251-281.

Poell T., Nieborg D. and van Dijck J. 2019, Platformisation, in “Internet Policy Review” 8 [4]. https://policyreview.info/concepts/platformisation (15.1.2021).

Poulsen S.V., Kvåle G. and van Leeuwen T. 2018, Special issue: Social media as semiotic technology, in “Social Semiotics”, 28 [5], pp. 593-600.

Preece J. and Maloney-Krichmar M. 2003, Online communities, in Jacko J. and Sears A. (eds.), Handbook of Human-Computer Interaction, Lawrence Erlbaum, Mahwah (NJ), pp. 596-620.

Putnam R.D. 2000, Bowling Alone, Simon & Schuster, New York (NY).

Rheingold H. 1993, The Virtual Community: Homesteading on the Electronic Frontier. Harper Perennial, New York (NY).

Shyam Sundar S. 2012, Social psychology of interactivity in human-website interaction, in Joinson A., Katelyn Y., McKenna A., Postmes T. and Reips U-D. (eds.), Oxford Handbook of Internet Psychology, Oxford University Press, Oxford, pp. 89-102.

Smelser N.J. and Baltes P.B. (eds.) 2001, International Encyclopedia of the Social & Behavioral Sciences, Elsevier, New York (NY).

Thurlow C., Lengel L. and Tomic A. 2005, Computer Mediated Communication: Social Interaction and the Internet, Sage, Thousand Oaks (CA).

Thurlow C. 2013, Fakebook: Synthetic media, pseudo-sociality and the rhetorics of Web 2.0, in Tannen D. and Trester A. (eds), Discourse 2.0: Language and New Media, Georgetown University Press, Washington, DC, pp. 225-248.

van Dijck J. 2009, Users like you? Theorizing agency in user-generated content, in “Media, Culture & Society” 31 [1], pp. 41-58.

van Dijck J. 2013a, ‘You have one identity’: Performing the self on Facebook and LinkedIn, in “Media, Culture & Society” 35 [2], pp. 199-215.

van Dijck J. 2013b, The Culture of Connectivity, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

van Dijck J. and Poell T. 2013, Understanding social media logic, in “Media and Communication” 1 [1], pp. 2-14.

van Dijck J., Poell T. and De Waal M. 2018, The Platform Society: Public Values in a Connective World, Oxford University Press, Oxford.

van Leeuwen T. 2005, Introducing Social Semiotics, Routledge, London.

van Leeuwen T. 2009, Discourse as the recontextualization of social practice: A guide, in Wodak R. and Meyer M. (eds.), Methods of Critical Discourse Analysis, 2nd ed., Sage, Thousand Oaks (CA), pp. 144-161.

Wittel A. 2001, Toward a network sociality, in “Theory, Culture and Society” 18 [6], Sage Publications, Thousand Oaks (CA), pp. 51-76.

Yun G.W. 2007, Interactivity concepts examined: Response time, hypertext, role taking, and multimodality, in “Media Psychology” 9 [3], p.p. 527-548.

Zappavigna M. 2012, Discourse of Twitter and Social Media: How We Use Language to Create Affiliation on the Web, Bloomsbury, London.

Zhao S., Djonov E. and van Leeuwen T. 2014, Semiotic technology and practice: a multimodal social semiotic approach to PowerPoint, in “Text & Talk” 34 [3], pp. 349- 375.


Full Text: PDF

Refbacks

  • There are currently no refbacks.
کاغذ a4

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribuzione - Non commerciale - Non opere derivate 3.0 Italia License.