Further on Signs in the Social Media

By

Obododimma Oha

Introduction

The social media are means through which ordinary citizens have stepped into news and entertainment, instead of allowing these to be repackaged and circulated the way preferred by the privileged at the Centre. The social media such as Facebook, Instagram, 2go, WhatsApp, etc depend so much on Signs and signification to make the impacts felt. It would be appropriate, therefore, for us to discuss the signs they deploy. These social media are quite typical of humans and may indicate the direction that human signification is going.

The signs noticeable in social media interactions are:

-- linguistic signs

-- images

-- animations of texts and images

-- colours

-- distance

Linguistic Signs:

One thing that is noticeable nowadays is that English is the template language of many computers. Is it that many who use computers are English-speaking? No! It is partly because many makers of computers are American and are English-speaking. Furthermore, other makers of computers for whom English is not a native language need the a language to market their products internationally. English is fast becoming the language of international trade. So, many computers are configured English.

In the social media, it is the same thing. English is ruling many interactions on Facebook, Instagram, etc.

These linguistic signs feature mainly in updates, chats, and comments. Reason: it is faster to use them. Another reason is familiarity or knowledge. 

The use of dialects:

It would look like localization but many on social media try to use dialect or other languages. The consequences are :

-- Some subscribers are excluded and they complain.

-- The user appears to be attached to local things and  may disliked or lose friends.

-- It would appear as if the user is a racist.

-- The user may not find appropriate fonts and subdots to use, especially if the language is not well-developed.

Other things that promote or prompt the use are :

-- cultural or linguistic nationalism 

-- membership of culturally oriented groups online

-- attempt to subvert the international hold that English has

-- attempt to promote and develop the local language or dialect

-- experimenting on the possibility of using the language for wider or formal interaction. 

On social media, linguistic signs may be used for

-- interpersonal communications 

-- public or group communication 

-- enhancements or support for nonlinguistic signification 

-- fun and playfulness, especially in animations. 

Nonlinguistic Signs Used:

-- images (which may be still-life photos, movies, or animated drawings) 

-- logo

-- icons, to indicate states, disposition, or behavior and activity 

Linguistic and nonlinguistic signs try to

-- inform or educate on social media 

-- entertain or make visitors feel good 

-- provide the fictional as if real (They show us the slippery nature of reality). 

Links as Signs:

Links on social media take us to other locations. In fact, they take users from window to window on the computer, giving another dimension of reality. 

Links, could be seen as evidence, even if the evidence is deception.

Names of Social Media Platforms: Signs of Communication Design:

The names used by such social media as "Facebook" and "Twitter" are also signs that subtly identify their types of communication in a playful way. "Facebook" is not about facing books and "Twitter" is not a meaningless chirping of a bird. Rather, Facebook is a sign of confronting humans as individuals and as groups in their interactions and the mental basis of those interactions. Twitter, on the other, is how messages of many in brief become the full information from society we have to consume and digest, just as the tweeting of little birds can tell the fuller story about what is going on in the forest. 

Literacy Plus:

It is also clear that knowledge in these signs and with these signs depends on another knowledge as a necessary step. In other words, literacy in the signs of the social media requires literacy in our human language and existing signification. 

Indicators of activity & disposition:

An important aspect of signification on computers and social media communications is indication or signaling. There are sounds for warnings. There are also indication showing when the other person is available, what the other person is doing, etc. What this suggests is that we need to know the new or emerging language to enjoy or feature in that interaction. It is a new language and we must learn its signs. 

Misrepresentations and Distortions of Signs:

 Social media communications involve the distortion and manipulation of signs, especially in photoshopping. This is obviously an interference with reality. If signs can be made that manipulable, then we cannot be sure that they refer to what they are said to refer to. They become tentative and far from truth. This appears to the central issue of the way social media handle signs, especially nonlinguistic signs. It may be playfulness but it draws attention to signification and truth.

Concluding Remarks:

Social media organs create room for creativity in information packaging and sharing but they also create problems for referentiality and truth in signification.