Gone are the days of epic poetry and long winded letters.
Communication is now dominated by status updates, tweets, instant messaging,
texting, and picture and video sharing.
Is it surprising then that the very structure of communication would also
alter along with its methods?
The digital age has seen an increasing level of media
convergence. According to Henry Jenkins "convergence represents a cultural
shift as consumers are encouraged to seek out new information and make
connections among dispersed media content." Convergence also allows for
the creation and sharing of information amongst consumers. Rather than
exclusively functioning as consumers of information they are also producers.
With the overwhelming amount of information being shared and
distributed and the incredible speed at which it is being transferred there is
a need to convey as much as possible as quickly and succinctly as possible. For
this reason communication via new media is dominated by a focus on brevity. This
has led to a revolution in the structure of communication. Short words instead
of long; an increase in acronyms and abbreviations; and the sharing of images.
All trends derived from the need to convey information as quickly and
efficiently as possible.
This focus on brevity has surfaced in a number of forms
which new media communication takes. Beginning with the early forms of online
instant messaging and texting, messaging has developed a number of ways to streamline
communication from acronyms such as LOL (laugh out loud) to emoticons (a
combination of keystrokes used to create a facial representation such as a
smile or frown), and the creative use of
capital letters to create emphasis. Even
punctuation has been transformed. See the following example from Lauren
Collister
Here a question mark stands in for the actual question while
the exclamation mark indicates a positive reaction. Repetition of this form of
punctuation then indicates emphasis. More recent developments in messaging
lingo have resulted in a turn away from written language indicators to
pictographic language most prominently represented by emojis, a small image
such as a smiley face meant to convey an emotion or idea.
Brevity in new media communication can also be seen in the
prolific use of image sharing. This is visible in popular image sharing apps
and programs such as Snapchat. This app allows individuals to send messages that are almost
exclusively image based. Images may be accessed by the recipient for only a few
seconds before the image is lost. Such images then are the height of brevity of
communication. What may have taken several sentences of text to communicate has
been conveyed in only a few moments.
Snapchat photo courtesy of Megan Helston
The above screenshot of a snapchat message is an example of
the wealth of information that can be conveyed via a momentary image. The above
is a photo of a political party sign in Canada. Someone has placed the sign in
the public trash demonstrating a rejection of this party. By sending this image
the sender is demonstrating that they agree with this sentiment. This is made more
clear by the inclusion of a short form of messaging, the acronym LOL (laugh out loud) which
indicates that the sender finds this image humorous.
One of the most
prolific forms of image based communication is the Internet Meme. The term meme
was coined by Richard Dawkins to "describe small units of culture
that spread from person to person by copying or imitation." Internet Memes
sees this phenomenon online and is described by Limor Shifman as "as (a) a
group of digital items sharing common characteristics of content, form, and/or
stance; (b) that were created with awareness of each other; and (c) were
circulate, imitated, and/or transformed via the internet by many users."
Internet Memes then use a particular image which is then shared to indicate
agreement with the original sentiment or "remixed" (edited) to create
additional meaning.
The above image is an example of a remixed Internet Meme.
This image is a picture of Jose Bautista a baseball player from the only Canadian
team in Major League Baseball, the Toronto Bluejays. In 2015 the Bluejays were
in position to proceed further in the playoffs than they had in several
decades. For many Canadians this image is iconic as the "Bat Flip." A
frustrating game for the Bluejays saw a moment of intense catharsis when Joey
Bautista stepped up to the plate and hit a home run. He then proceeded to flip
his bat to the side with a degree of drama that was intended and perceived as a
retort to the game thus far, a "take that!" moment. This image was
shared, remixed, and reposted countless times. Here the image is remixed to
refer to the Federal Election that took place only a few weeks later. A
significant portion of the young Canadian voter population was frustrated with
the leadership of the Canadian government at the time and the election saw a
massive surge in support for the opposition leader Justin Trudeau. This image
uses the iconic image of Jose Bautista and the "take
that!" attitude he expressed as a way to indicate personal sentiments.
Using such a familiar image the sharer of the image is able to access the
emotions that this particular moment evoked and use it as a metaphor for their
feelings regarding Canadian politics and the election.
Although many individuals have pointed out that new media
has created a more visually driven culture this is not all that revolutionary.
As Shaun Wilson points out, much of how society remembers the recent past is
through images. Wilson
provides the example of the bombing of Hiroshima and the iconic photo of the
Vietnam war "Napalm Girl." The iconic nature of both photos
demonstrates the fact that culture was becoming visually driven long before the
digital age.
The prevalence of television, film, and visual advertising
only further points to the fact that society has for some time then been
oriented towards a visually driven culture, new media merely allows this
inclination to flourish. This view of new media then sees the rise in image
based communication from a Constructivist viewpoint where new media technologies
are being created to serve the needs of society for visually driven
communication rather than the perceiving technology itself as the architect of
this culture.
While it is important to note the increase in the visual
nature of communication in the digital age the need for brevity has created an evolution
in form and structure of communication that has produced a more interesting
development, the definitive turn towards a more symbol driven form of
communication.
While all the forms of new media communication that I have
mentioned above are clear examples of a visual culture they are also all
examples of the use of symbols and symbolism in modern communication.
Definition courtesy of Oxford Dictionary
Short forms of messaging directly correspond to the definition of symbols as objects or groups of letters that express or represent a particular idea. The Snapchat photo of the party sign also represents a symbol as an "event... that expresses or represents a particular idea." The "Bat Flip" meme is a clear example of symbolism as it aims to "express...
emotions, and states of mind."
However, this use of symbolism goes even further than
these definitions. Traditional literary forms of symbolism can also be seen in
new media communication. An example we can observe above is in the Snapchat
photo of the political party sign being thrown into the trash. This image
utilizes metaphor where the party sign represents the party itself. The sign
being placed in the garbage indicates the need to dispose of that party.
Another literary form which can be seen in new media communication is the use
of allusion. Many remixed memes utilize allusion, the process of referring
to a separate subject such as a place or event by means of passing reference.
It is up to the individual to connect the meaning to this reference. The
"Bat Flip" meme is an example of allusion where the creator is
referring to an event and it is up to the "reader" of the meme to
make the connection of the image to that particular event.
New media symbols and symbolism are even beginning to reach
beyond the confines of new media technology. People have begun to use short form
messaging language in RL (real life) conversations. Acronyms like GG (good
game) have transgressed the realm of online gaming and are being used by
individuals playing physical sports. Even allusions to memes are making their
presence known in the physical realm such as the below image of a protester of
the American President Elect Trump which references the popular online meme
"Damn Daniel." This meme is a viral video which features a young man recording his friend wearing white "vans" (a type of
shoe) and praising him on how good he looks (in this
instance "Damn" is positive). The protester uses allusion to this
meme ironically as he is protesting Donald Trump and his policies.
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