Social Semiotics - Visual Communication Online

     Social Semiotics is a methodology of communication created by Michael Holiday in his 1978 book, Language as Social Semiotics. This methodology has to do with meaning, meaning makers, and signs. Also, it connects meaning and how it is made by humans using semiotic resources, which are different signs. The three different functions every sign has are explained in the Handbook of Pragmatics by Jeff Bezemer where he says, "they express something about the world ('ideational metafunction'), position people in relation to each other ('interpersonal metafunction') and form connections with other signs to produce coherent text ('textual metafunction).". Social Semiotics are very important to the topic of communication since it focuses on context. Another reason that it is helpful is that it helps to show that verbal communication is not the most dominant form of communication. 

connections with other signs to produce coherent text (‘textual metafunction’)

position people in relation to each other (interpersonal metafunction) and form

connections with other signs to produce coherent text (‘textual metafunction’).

    One of the rules of Social Semiotics is using a set of criteria to determine the context of an image. The way I will analyze the pictures below is by looking at their representational, interactive meaning, and compositional. The representation of a photo is if it is narrative or conceptual based on what events happen around the photos. The interactive meaning of this image can be described by finding three different aspects of it, contact, distance, and point of view. The contact is the relationship between the viewer and the person/people in the photo, the distance is how far away the person/people in the photo are, and the composition is what parts of the photos have meaning. The top of a photo is the ideal information, the bottom has the real information, the right has the new information, the left has already known information, and the center puts it all together. 

    The representation part of this image is a narrative. This is due to the image referring to a larger context of Muhammed Ali winning a fight. The contact of this image is a demand, the distance is medium, and the point of view is Ali being in the middle of the frame, which shows his strength. The composition of this image is in the center, and it brings the whole meaning of the image together. 

    The representation part of this image is narrative as it is part of a larger story of people protesting the Vietnam War. The interactive meaning of this photo has a contact of demand, the distance is medium, and the point of view is from up above. This point of view is important since it shows the soldiers and protestors and how the protestors are standing up to them. The composition of this image is all put together in the center. The left section of the photo shows the known information on how soldiers would resist protests. The right side of the photo shows new information on how the protestors used flowers to get their point across. 

Sources:

Bezemer, Jeff. (PDF) Social Semiotics, Jan. 2009, www.researchgate.net/publication/286459229_Social_Semiotics.

Karlie, et al. “8 Famous Photos from History.” The Odyssey Online, 17 Oct. 2019, www.theodysseyonline.com/8-famous-photos-history.

Pescod, Adam. “Famous Photos That Changed the World.” Fleximize, 14 Nov. 2017, fleximize.com/articles/006450/famous-photos.

“Semiotics Lesson.” YouTube, YouTube, 14 Nov. 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=p3XvJDxjIpU.

“Visual Social Semiotics.” Theories of Visual Communication., 2 Sept. 2016, theoriesofviscomblog.wordpress.com/visual-social-semiotics/#:~:text=Definition.,meanings%20that%20visual%20material%20contains. 

Online Arguements

 

    For this blog, I will be analyzing the arguments in the comment section of a Reddit post. The post, a picture of Jimmy Carter at his wife's funeral, was posted to the subreddit r/pics. I decided to choose this argument since I am not opinionated one way or another about Jimmy Carter. I wanted to be able to choose a topic where I did not have preconceived notions and could analyze the argument from a neutral position. 

    After going through a lot of the comments on the post, I found many smaller arguments instead of just one big one. One negative example of an argument from the post was a group of people arguing about if Jimmy Carter was a good president. This was a negative example since people used their emotions, instead of stating facts about his presidency. Another concern I have with this argument is that people kept deflecting. Instead of keeping the topic straight and continually talking about Carter, they would talk about other presidents. They would use the other president's downfalls instead of focusing on what Carter did or did not do well. Lastly, one concern I had with this argument is that people kept arguing about the actual picture being disrespectful. This was a concern of mine since people did not seem to understand why the picture was being posted. The picture was trying to show the kindness of Carter, but people kept arguing that it was disrespectful. 

Here is a link so that the reddit thread can be viewed. https://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1bbpxas/former_us_president_jimmy_carter_at_his_wifes/

    To argue correctly online, I have made an outline with five rules of how it should be done. The first rule will be to be respectful. By being respectful, I mean to understand that people have different opinions, and everyone has equal rights to be heard. The second rule will be to not be rude. This goes along with the first rule, but this expands on it to include not being rude and mean with how you respond to people. The third rule would be to understand what you are talking about. This is a very important rule since you cannot argue well if you don't know what you are talking about. The next rule would be to step away from the keyboard if necessary. This is a helpful rule since it will stop arguments from being led by emotions and becoming heated. The last rule would be to be an active listener. While you are not having a face-to-face interaction, it is important to listen to other people online. You want to be listened to and other people feel the same way as well. 

Sources: 

Kevin. “How Social Media Turns Online Arguments between Teens into Real-World Violence.” World Leading Higher Education Information and Services, 6 Apr. 2021, world.edu/how-social-media-turns-online-arguments-between-teens-into-real-world-violence/.

R/PICS on Reddit: Former U.S President Jimmy Carter at His Wife’s ..., www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/1bbpxas/former_us_president_jimmy_carter_at_his_wifes/. Accessed 11 Mar. 2024. 

The Toulmin Method

    The Toulmin Method, created by Stephen Toulmin in 1958, is an explanation of different elements of an argument. The main elements that make up the Toulmin Method are claim, evidence (data), warrant, backing, qualifier, and rebuttal. Using this method can make understanding someone's argument very clear. This is due to the fact that the method can break down an argument part by part. 

    This is not only true for argumentative essays, but also for communication online. For example, the key element, the qualifier, could be used in a social media interaction. If you are trying to get a point across in a social media post, the use of the qualifier could make it so people can't find any way to go against your argument. This is done by using terms such as "in most cases" in your claim. Having this would strengthen your position since it makes it hard to find faults in it and rebut it.    

    One example of an online article that could be challenged by the Toulmin method is "2022 Subaru WRX Limited Yearlong Test Verdict: Better Than We First Thought" by MotorTrend. In this article, they are trying to argue that the 2022 Subaru WRX Limited is a fun car. One way this article can be challenged is by rebutting it and asking, "What counterarguments are here?". If you ask this, you can see that they forgot to mention what a non-car person thought. This leads to a counterargument since most people in the car market are not car people and might not find it interesting. 

    

    One negative of the Toulmin Method is that it can create an echo chamber. This is due to the fact that online communities can only post one agenda and not get challenged since everyone has the same view. A way to avoid an echo chamber is by looking at many types of media with different views. This can lead to avoiding echo chambers since you can find arguments for both sides of a story. To better understand echo chambers and how to avoid them, follow this link: https://www.poynter.org/tfcn/2023/echo-chambers-how-theyre-created-and-how-to-avoid-them/

    Critical thinking is necessary when it comes to using the Toulmin method in an online environment. First, critical thinking is necessary since it will help you to look deeper into an argument and see what the warrant and qualifier are. This is helpful since understanding these two elements of the method leads to seeing how the argument can be rebutted. 

Sources:

Brooks, David. “How to Build Strong Argumentation by Using the Toulmin Method.” Gadget Advisor, 10 Sept. 2022, gadgetadvisor.com/guides/how-to-build-strong-argumentation-by-using-the-toulmin-method/.

Morrison, Mac. “2022 Subaru WRX Limited Yearlong Test Verdict: Better than We First Thought.” MotorTrend, MotorTrend, 21 Dec. 2023, www.motortrend.com/reviews/2022-subaru-wrx-limited-yearlong-test-review-verdict/.

Pennock, Story. “Echo Chambers: How They’re Created and How to Avoid Them.” Poynter, 5 May 2023, www.poynter.org/tfcn/2023/echo-chambers-how-theyre-created-and-how-to-avoid-them/.

 

Research Podcast

     The podcast, "Use Online Nonverbal Communication" by Modern Mentor is about the use of nonverbal communication in online settings. More specifically, the podcast spoke on how nonverbal communication in online settings can affect how people see you. This idea ties in very well with multiple sections of the textbook for this class. One way this tied into class was that it explained how everything you do online can be seen and make people perceive you in a certain way. This was very similar to what was explained on page 93 of Human Communication, Seventh Addition when Green said, "From these nonverbal cues we make judgments about others. Research suggests that our brains process a great amount of verbal and nonverbal cues when we meet someone, or simply look at the person’s photo on Instagram, and we make fairly accurate first impressions based on this limited information." (Green, 2017) Also, the podcast explained how poor grammar affects how people will perceive you. Stever Robbins, the person leading the podcast, explained that this happens because people see poor grammar as a lack of care and as not worthy of being paid attention to. This idea aligns well with a point from section 7.2 Professional Use of Social Media Profiles, from the textbook. This point is, "Correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Make sure your profile is 100 percent error-free." (Green, 2017) If you want to learn more about nonverbal communication online, you can listen if you follow the link below. 

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/modern-mentor/id268557178?i=1000447891297

Sources:

Green, J. M. (2017a). Communicating online. McGraw Hill Education Create. https://bookshelf.vitalsource.com/reader/books/9781307876413/pageid/0 

Mentor, M. (2019, August 26). Modern mentor: 562 - use online nonverbal communication on Apple Podcasts. Apple Podcasts. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/modern-mentor/id268557178?i=1000447891297

The Online Battle for Public Opinion

    The online landscape has allowed anyone to post their opinion, whether or not that opinion has evidence to back it up. This has then made an online battle for public opinion since there are so many diverging opinions. One of the largest key factors contributing to the online battle for public opinion is social media. If you have any form of social media, you will have seen someone at some point trying to make their opinion known. Having all of these opinions has led to opinions being spread that have no real backing. One example of this is the false information and opinions that were spread from the Russian Internet Research Agency's Facebook page. According to the article, Why do people spread false information online? The effects of message and viewer characteristics on self-reported likelihood of sharing social media disinformation by The National Library of Medicine, "over 30 million users shared and otherwise interacted with the IRA’s Facebook and Instagram posts, propagating them to their families and friends." (Buchanon, 2020) This shows that not only can the spread of false opinions affect society and democracy, but interpersonal relationships as well. They are affected since the majority of shares were between people in interpersonal relationships.

Here is the link to that article in case you want to look more into it: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7541057/

    The IRA was so successful in spreading false information since the used the tactic of having people act as other people. They would have people make fake accounts acting like someone they were not so that people wouldn't be able to see that it was false information being spread. An ethical consideration someone should take when looking at the posts by IRA is to see who they might be hurting. If they notice it's hurting someone or something, they should consider not interacting with the post. Also, they could try to find another source on a similar topic and see how the opinions and information diverge. 

Sources:

Buchanan T. "Why do people spread false information online? The effects of message and    viewer characteristics on self-reported likelihood of sharing social media disinformation." PLoS One. 2020 Oct 7;15(10):e0239666. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0239666. PMID: 33027262; PMCID: PMC7541057.

“Public Opinion and Polls in the 2020 Presidential Election.” CJMD, 4 Nov. 2020, cjmd.com.uw.edu/public-opinion-and-polls-in-the-2020-presidential-election/. 

Online Communication, Business Assessment

 Assessing the Online Communication of Honda Racing Corporation U.S. (HRC U.S.)

   

    Honda Racing Corporation U.S., formally named Honda Performance Development, is the racing division of Honda for the United States. While they do not have a strong website solely focusing on HRC U.S., they have a powerful social media presence. For example, they use known meme formats on their Instagram profile which leads to them connecting with a younger audience. As mentioned previously, they don't have a website that solely focuses on HRC U.S., but HRC has a section for it. At the top of this section, they show the latest news from racing in the United States. In the middle of the page, they show the recaps of all of the past year's races going from most recent to oldest. Towards the bottom, there are links that go to HRC-related topics such as their social media pages. The page is organized in this way so that viewers of the site can see the latest news first and then see what was recent before that. To see how it is organized, you can view the section here: IMSA | Honda.Racing. HRC U.S. has a clear identity that can be seen through its Instagram profile. As mentioned earlier, part of their identity is posting memes that go along with their racing programs. This is a large part of their identity since it helps them to stick out and followers come to expect those types of posts. While they have a strong identity on social media, they could definitely improve on their website. Instead of just being a section in the HRC website, HRC U.S. should have a website that solely focuses on themselves. This would improve their identity since it would separate them from HRC.  

Sources:

Honda by CPTN Apparel Company, LLC. “HRC by CPTN Apparel.” Honda by CPTN Apparel Company, LLC, hondabycptn.com/pages/hrc. Accessed 10 Feb. 2024.

“IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.” Honda.Racing, honda.racing/imsa. Accessed 10 Feb. 2024.

Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants

 According to Prensky, what category do you fall into, and how has this affected your learning?

    In his paper Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Marc Prensky explains what each of those terms mean. I most definitely fall under the first term, digital native. A digital native is someone who grew up with technology and never had to adapt to technology coming out. I fall under this term since I was born in 2003 when many types of electronic technology existed. Being born in this time has affected how I've learned since technology played an important role in my learning. For instance, I was using iPads in school as early as third grade. Most paper assignments were also replaced with digital assignments that would be submitted online. I think being a digital native has increased my learning ability since I can find information easily. I don't have to go looking in textbooks but instead do a quick Google search and find what I'm looking for. Being a digital native also has had somewhat of a negative impact on my learning as well. I have bad handwriting that I think can be somewhat attributed to typing more than having to handwrite.  

What are some other myths Kirschner associated with Prensky's findings from 2001?

    Prensky's ideas on digital natives and digital immigrants were shown to be flawed by Paul Kirschner. One myth that Kirschner brought up in his paper is that there is no such thing as a digital native. He said this reasoning that a student is not "informational skilled" only for the fact that they were born in a digital world. Another myth brought up in the paper is that all students will be skilled in technology. A myth brought up that I have noticed myself is that digital natives can multitask well. I've found that other than listening to music while working, I'm not a good multitasker even though I'm a digital native. 

Sources:

“Comments on Marc Prensky’s Article ‘Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants.’” Comments on Marc Prensky’s Article “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants,” 11 Dec. 2015, innovsmslu.blogspot.com/2015/11/normal-0-false-false-false-ru-x-none-x.html.

Flaherty, Casey. “The Myths of the Digital Native (Part 1).” 3 Geeks and a Law Blog, 6 Mar. 2018, www.geeklawblog.com/2015/10/the-myths-of-digital-native-part-1.html.

Kirschner, Paul  A. “The Myths of the Digital Native and the Multitasker.” Teaching and Teacher Education, Pergamon, 15 June 2017, www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0742051X16306692.

Prensky, Marc. Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants, Oct. 2001, marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf.