- Project Summary:
We are interested in analyzing millennials’ (college students) SMS (short message service) to identify patterns in language. With increased access to technology and social media, millennials have found different ways of expressing themselves. We plan on using text message chains, Facebook messenger, and direct messages (i.e. Instagram, Twitter). For example, phrases are abbreviated, visuals (i.e. GIFS, memes) are used, or punctuation marks are intentionally left out. The linguistic changes are not only for convenience or shortcuts; the language of millennials is far more nuanced. The key question our project attempts to answer is, how do millennials use different forms of visual language to express emotions? What do the patterns found in text communication say about millennials? What are the intentions of using certain forms of language? In order to answer these questions, we will ask Bowdoin students in Sociology 3010 for access to their text messages. In addition, we will use the language of text communication used by millennials (college students) to compare it to the language of text communication used by older millennials. We are well aware that text messages contain intimate information; however, we are not concerned about the content of the messages. We will only look at the content of the text messages if it requires context.