"This is NOT a #humblebrag, this is just a #brag": The pragmatics of self-praise, hashtags and politeness in Instagram posts. (April 2018)
- Record Type:
- Journal Article
- Title:
- "This is NOT a #humblebrag, this is just a #brag": The pragmatics of self-praise, hashtags and politeness in Instagram posts. (April 2018)
- Main Title:
- "This is NOT a #humblebrag, this is just a #brag": The pragmatics of self-praise, hashtags and politeness in Instagram posts
- Authors:
- Matley, David
- Abstract:
- Highlights: I investigate self-praise and hashtag use on Instagram. The hashtags #brag and #humblebrag place the illocution of the speech act on record. Hashtags are used to violate pragmatic norms while showing an awareness thereof. Self-praise on Instagram involves both mitigation and aggravation of face threat. Hashtag use is a key element of positive presentation of the self online. Abstract: Social media can be seen as "sites of self-presentation and identity negotiation" whose affordances facilitate the production and promotion of both individual and collective identities (Papacharissi, 2011, pp. 304–305). From a pragmatic perspective, self-promotion and self-praise are interactionally risky acts. While some studies have shed light on self-praise in online communities, little attention has been paid to the pragmatic function of the affordances of digital media such as hashtagging and multimodality in self-praising discourse. This article contributes to filling this research gap by examining the ways in which posters of "bragging" Instagram photos do face work by using the hashtags #brag and #humblebrag in interaction with positive (im-)politeness strategies. It presents the results of both a small-scale quantitative study of face work in Instagram posts labelled #fitness, #brag and #humblebrag, as well as a qualitative analysis of the mitigation and aggravation strategies used in explicitly self-praising posts. The article argues that the hashtags #brag and #humblebragHighlights: I investigate self-praise and hashtag use on Instagram. The hashtags #brag and #humblebrag place the illocution of the speech act on record. Hashtags are used to violate pragmatic norms while showing an awareness thereof. Self-praise on Instagram involves both mitigation and aggravation of face threat. Hashtag use is a key element of positive presentation of the self online. Abstract: Social media can be seen as "sites of self-presentation and identity negotiation" whose affordances facilitate the production and promotion of both individual and collective identities (Papacharissi, 2011, pp. 304–305). From a pragmatic perspective, self-promotion and self-praise are interactionally risky acts. While some studies have shed light on self-praise in online communities, little attention has been paid to the pragmatic function of the affordances of digital media such as hashtagging and multimodality in self-praising discourse. This article contributes to filling this research gap by examining the ways in which posters of "bragging" Instagram photos do face work by using the hashtags #brag and #humblebrag in interaction with positive (im-)politeness strategies. It presents the results of both a small-scale quantitative study of face work in Instagram posts labelled #fitness, #brag and #humblebrag, as well as a qualitative analysis of the mitigation and aggravation strategies used in explicitly self-praising posts. The article argues that the hashtags #brag and #humblebrag have a clear metalinguistic function as a reference to the illocution of the speech act. It also shows that they are used in a balancing act of face mitigation and aggravation strategies. Overall, the study suggests that the hashtags #brag and #humblebrag function as part of a strategy that negotiates an appropriate level of self-praise and positive self-presentation. The study adds to an understanding of the pragmatics of self-presentation on social media, and raises questions regarding the new literacies that digital media require. … (more)
- Is Part Of:
- Discourse, context & media. Volume 22(2018)
- Journal:
- Discourse, context & media
- Issue:
- Volume 22(2018)
- Issue Display:
- Volume 22, Issue 2018 (2018)
- Year:
- 2018
- Volume:
- 22
- Issue:
- 2018
- Issue Sort Value:
- 2018-0022-2018-0000
- Page Start:
- 30
- Page End:
- 38
- Publication Date:
- 2018-04
- Subjects:
- Hashtags -- Face work -- Impoliteness -- Instagram -- Positive self-presentation -- Self-praise
Discourse analysis -- Periodicals
Digital media -- Periodicals
Mass media and language -- Periodicals
Communication -- Periodicals
Communication
Digital media
Discourse analysis
Mass media and language
Periodicals
401.4105 - Journal URLs:
- http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/22116958 ↗
http://www.sciencedirect.com/ ↗ - DOI:
- 10.1016/j.dcm.2017.07.007 ↗
- Languages:
- English
- ISSNs:
- 2211-6958
- Deposit Type:
- Legaldeposit
- View Content:
- Available online (eLD content is only available in our Reading Rooms) ↗
- Physical Locations:
- British Library DSC - BLDSS-3PM
British Library HMNTS - ELD Digital store - Ingest File:
- 6031.xml