Michelle’s Five Annotated Bib. Sources
#1
Alshenqeeti, Hamza. “Are emojis creating a new or old visual language for new generations? A socio-semiotic study.” Advances in Language and Literary Studies 7, no.6 (2016): 56-69.
In the article, Hamza Alshenqeeti questions whether emojis are a form of new or old language. Prior to emojis, text communication was introduced to emoticons in the late 1990s. It can be argued that emojis are more advanced forms of emoticons. Emoticons, similar to emojis, are supposed to mimic visual images; however, there is little assortment to emoticons. Emoticons are created using letters, numbers, and symbols on the keyboard (e.g. <3). On the other hand, emojis have become a standardized keyboard function on many cellular devices. According to Alshenqeeti, the variety of emojis allow communicators to “deliver enhanced meaning to [their] messages” (57). The millennial generation has maximized the use of emojis in their text communication, sometimes using emojis in lieu of text. While critics argue that the overuse of emojis has been detrimental to language, Alshenqeeti claims that emojis provide the means to express both literacy and emotion. Alshenqeeti proposes that this is significantly comparable to Egyptian hieroglyphics. Alshenqeeti’s main argument rests on the idea that emojis are “an expedient way to convey pragmatic information…[like] ancient pictographic communication systems” (58).
For the most part, Alshenqeeti’s article resonated with our interviewee’s responses. A lot of our interviewees mentioned that they used emojis primarily to convey emotion or tone in their text messages. Another thing to note is that emojis have evolved in the short period of time that they have existed, and emojis have slowly assumed certain meanings that are widely understood by millennials. For example, the eggplant emoji is oftentimes used to represent the male genitals. The language of emojis, unlike other languages, is “acquired over time, through use and sharing” (58). I cannot help but think of my personal experience with emojis. I only started using emojis after I noticed my friends using them in our group chat. Adopting the language of my peers provided me with a sense of belonging and relatability.
#2
Kleen, Betty A., and Lynn Heinrichs. “‘A comparison of student use and understanding of text messaging shorthand at two universities.” Issues in Information Systems, IX (2) (2008): 412-420.
Betty Kleen mainly focuses on the use of acronyms and shorthand in text communication (e.g. instant messaging, emails) in her article. Kleen argues that the use of acronyms and shorthand in text communication has posed a challenge: misinterpretation. Depending on the person who is receiving and reading the message, acronyms are not always interpreted the same way. According to Kleen, POS stands for “parent over shoulder” (413). I found this to be extremely interesting because, prior to reading this article, I assumed it was an acronym for piece of shit. Kleen claims that it is too soon to “think of text messaging acronyms as a language all its own” (413) because it’s not standardized. Misinterpretations are too frequent, even among millennials. In order to learn more about millennials’ use and understanding of text messaging acronyms, Kleen conducts a study on students at a public university and private university. She found that students considered using abbreviations with family and friends was “appropriate,” whereas it was inappropriate with “colleagues, customers, or vendors” (418).
It was interesting to read Kleen’s article because as I was reading it I immediately felt like it was outdated. The use of acronyms, especially the ones that Kleen mentions, are not frequently used by millennials. I think there are classic acronyms such as lol (laugh out loud), brb (be right back), and tbh (to be honest); however, younger millennials rarely use or even know about acronyms such as “eg” (evil grin), “ficcl” (frankly, I couldn’t care less), or “143” (I love you) (413). Kleen and Alshenqeeti’s article go well together because it further emphasizes the notion that texting language is constantly evolving. In a matter of eight years, millennials have shifted from using acronyms to using visuals in their text messages. I would like to use Kleen’s research to think about how millennials are first-handedly experiencing the evolution of texting language.
#3
Pearson, Judy C., Anna Carmon, Cloy Tobola, and Michael Fowler. “Motives for communication: Why the millennial generation uses electronic devices.” Journal of the Communication, Speech & Theatre Association of North Dakota 22, no. 1 (2010): 45-55.
The authors of this article conduct a study to determine “the motives college students identify for their use of technological devices” (45). Previous research showed that consumers “identified escapism, developing personal relationships…[and] surveillance of the world at large” (45) as the primary reasons of using technological devices. I would argue that these are still the primary reasons why millennials use technology. For example, cell phones provide users with the means to escape, develop relationships, and survey the world. The cell phone has become a comprehensive device that gives users access to phone calls, social media, and text messaging. Among millennials, text messaging has become a popular and preferable mode of communication. Text messaging provides millennials with “the ability to focus on the construction of messages” (46). One our interviewees, David, had similar thoughts. David said millennials could easily polish up their text messages because of the delete button.
After conducting research on college students, the authors found that students who “express high social connectedness [were] less likely to use [technological devices] for companionship and escape” (51). I would disagree with the findings in this article because it is quite different to what I have found in my interviews with millennials. A lot of the millennials (college students) I spoke with have expressed heightened social connectedness as a result of social media and text messaging. For example, Julianna found it easier to message acquaintances on Facebook messenger because it was assumed that social media was one of the fastest ways to contact someone. She also used online communities to meet friends and connect with types of people that she could not find on Bowdoin’s campus. This article definitely read like a non-millennial’s guide to understanding millennials. I do think technological devices can cause loneliness; however, I also think it has the power to create communities and support groups for those who find it difficult to forge relationship in-person.
#4
Evans, Vyvyan. “Can emojis really be used to make terror threats?” The Guardian. February 2, 2015. https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2015/feb/02/can-emojis-really-be-used-to-make-terror-threats
In his article, Vyvyan Evans questions the validity of calling emojis a language. He asks the question, can we identify emojis as a language? This question arises after 17-year old Osiris Aristy was arrested in New York in 2015 after making a “‘terrorist threat’” with emojis on Facebook. The message included “emojis of a police officer and a revolver.” Aristy’s status update did not include a “written or verbal threat,” only emojis. According to Evans, we must think about the function of language to see if a string of emojis qualifies as a terrorist threat. As a language and communication expert, Evans claims that there are two functions to language: to “convey ideas” and “influence others.” As we have seen in previous research and my interviews, emojis definitely have the ability to convey ideas. Millennials oftentimes use emojis or other visuals to express emotions (heart eye emoji) or physical actions (running emoji). Emojis can also “influence the mental states, emotions, and even behaviors of others.” Most of the time, emojis can provide nuance to a text message. For example, a late-night text message that says, “you up?” followed by a smirk emoji, peach emoji, and eggplant emoji translates to asking for sex.
If we were to use Evans’ criteria for language, emojis would qualify as a language. Its neither verbal or written, but emojis have cultural and social meanings. I learned from my interviews that some millennials use emojis if they find it difficult to express their thoughts in words. I don’t think society as a whole considers emojis to be a language; however, millennials are increasingly using emojis in lieu of text. In my opinion, language can be anything that is used to communicate interpersonally. Some millennials are able to have full conversations with their friends while only using emojis or visuals (memes, GIFS).
#5
S‐O’Brien, Lupita, Pamela Read, Jaqueline Woolcott, and Chirag Shah. “Understanding privacy behaviors of millennials within social networking sites.” Proceedings of the American Society for Information Science and Technology 48, no. 1 (2011): 1-10.
“Understanding privacy behaviors of millennials within social networking sites” conducted exploratory research on high school students’ “privacy practices” (1) on social media. Researchers found that most millennials were concerned about their privacy. Millennials took measures such as untagging themselves in pictures, ignoring friend requests from strangers, and self-censoring their status updates and photos. The authors briefly compare the privacy practices of millennials with older generations. For example, a lot of millennials would rather share personal information with their close friends instead of their family members. On the other hand, older generations feel more comfortable sharing photos and messages with family members. This “demonstrate[s] a generational divide with the very definition of privacy” (4). Some of my interviewees exercised similar privacy habits. Lily, a senior at Bowdoin College, talked extensively about her Finsta (fake Instagram) and how she would never let her parents see it because it featured inappropriate content. Lily used her fake Instagram to share unfiltered photos with only her closest friends.
Both this article and my interviewees responses surprised me because I was under the assumption that millennials did not care about privacy. I remember after the Cambridge Analytica scandal my parents called to ask about the content on my Facebook profile. I told my parents that I wasn’t even slightly worried about what Facebook or Cambridge Analytica had on me; a part of me was apathetic to the entire privacy issue. Many of my interviewees were concerned about privacy but felt that they had to give it up in order to stay connected to their friends on social media.
Bettina’s Five Annotated Bib. Sources
- PettiJohn, Terry F., Erik Frazier, Elizabeth Rieser, Nicholas Vaughn, and Bobbi Hupp-Wilds. “Classroom Texting In College Students.” College Student Journal 49, no. 4 (2015): 513-516.
This article details a quantitative study conducted at a midwestern university where a survey was distributed to 235 college students. Out of all respondents, only one student did not own a cellphone and the majority participated in texting to communicate with others. It provides some statistics in this specific setting which supports the expectation that college students are very active online and on their phones, even during class time. This study merely serves as backing to our initial background for our presentation that texting is a major form of communication between millennials. Even in settings where phones are not allowed such as the college classroom, this generation will still use their cell during class. The numbers are also worth taking a look at. One stat in this study states that more than half of those who took the survey reasoned that they text during class because of boredom or work. This goes to show how connected (or too connected) we are with our phones. It provides a reason on why we text – communicating even when we it is not necessary.
2. Baines, Lawrence. “A Future of Fewer Words? Five Trends Shaping the Future of Language.” The Futurist 46, no. 2 (2012): 42-46.
Lawrence Baine proposes five trends that are transforming how we communicate with each other today. I believe the first trend is most useful in our research. He states that “Images are subverting words” (44). He provides historical examples of how we have come to prefer saying less to say more. In the nineteenth century, presidential candidates for example would debate for hours and in contrast, today we are very focused on the catchy campaign slogans to carry the candidate’s message. In our own research, this trend also rings true based on our respondents’ discussion over emojis, gifs, or memes. There are times when this visual language is used to supplement a message but other times when it also serves as the entire message. We have come to a point in a society where words are not needed, though one can argue that this is how people communicated with each other before languages were developed. Are we repeating a cycle?
3. Goldsborough, Reid. “Putting Your Emotions on Screen.” Teacher Librarian 43, no. 1 (10, 2015): 64-64,67
This article mainly talks about how the visual language – emoticons and emojis – are used as a partial substitute for tone of voice, facial expressions, and body language. Since emoticons are originally tiny digital human faces, they can represent the emotion of an individual that the other cannot see from behind a screen. This echoes the interviews Michelle and I have conducted for this research project. These characters help us to be understood or to understand each other.
Reid Goldsborough states that the concept of sending symbols in place of words is nothing new: “Digital punctuation marks came into existence in the early 1980s to help prevent dashed-off online communications from being misunderstood” (64). Telegraph operators in the mid-nineteenth century used acronyms themselves when communicating with each other. It comes to no surprise then that millennials have adopted a similar approach to communicating. I feel that most of our generation has caught up with this trend and this is expressed in some of our interviews.
4. Bradley, Loretta J. and Bret Hendricks. “E-Mail and Ethical Issues.” Family Journal17, no. 3 (07, 2009): 267-271.
Bret Hendricks and Loretta Bradley write about the many problems that arise out of e-mails as a form of communication. Although Michelle and I do not discuss emails too much in our project, it is still a mode of communication that millennials use and produce similar issues as texting or online messaging. One anecdote explains an attorney and a client having a disagreement over email and those messages being spread through news channels including ABC and CNN. This email was used in court to further a lawsuit and smear the attorney’s character.
Our respondents expressed concerns over such messages being leaked to the public. Both texts and emails can be damaging to one’s reputation or cause conflict outside the two parties involved. What’s more is that these messages cannot be deleted once they are sent. There is a degree of permanence that we as a generation usually do not consider unless the topic is brought up. One interviewee kept emphasizing that the if she makes a mistake, the cloud or the internet will document that mistake forever. This article helps us explore the ethical issues in communicating with millennials.
5. Elahi, Hasan M. “You Want to Track Me? Here You Go, F.B.I.” The New York Times. 2011.
Hasan Elahi was apprehended in June 2002 when returning to America. He was stopped at customs and interrogated about the events of September 11: Immigration services thought he was a 9/11 terrorist. Elahi, however, keeps very detailed records of his schedules and was able to trace his actions all the way back to the date they were inquiring him about. The questioning continued for six months and in the end, Elahi became paranoid about leaving the US and not being allowed back in the country. His interrogating agent told him to merely send the FBI his flight details and he should be cleared to travel. After this whole situation, Elahi started sending the FBI more than just his travel details but his whereabouts everyday complete with images and coordinates. He eventually created a public website that would showcase his location along with photos that anyone with an internet connection can access.
I talk about this project in our podcast to show the efforts one could go to counter government surveillance. It is valid to be concerned about what information others could be collecting on us. However, if we voluntarily put our data out in public, we might worry less about what others could see. Elahi says, “Making my private information public devalues the currency of the information the intelligence gatherers have collected.” On a similar note, one respondent in our podcast expresses their nonchalance towards the government surveying them: “Because what are they gonna do? Target me because I’m a normal like, a Bowdoin student?”