Snapchat, Smartphones, and New Media
Poster Number
007
College
College of Arts and Sciences
Department
English
Abstract
The vast majority of scholarly work on Snapchat as a form of media, and specifically new media, has focused almost solely on the potential for the application to be used as a lewd form of often arbitrary communication between young people; however, in my view, that understanding of the technology and that focus are all too narrow and concerned with upractices that hardly begin to define the scope of usage for the Snapchat application. Using the research and work of a few important media and semiotics scholars applied to some primary research I will gather via a survey and coding system, this study considers the potential reasons for Snapchat’s mass popularity and the possibility of viewing Snapchat itself and its use as a reflection of the forces that will drive the digital, smartphone era forward. In terms of New Media and based on my research, Snapchat is a reflection of the social and cultural movement away from language as the only viable form of expression and communication of complex ideas. Its multimodal status and the participatory culture surrounding its use create a reflection of the forces that draw users into different specific interfaces via smartphones, and encourage users to use the application.
Honors Thesis Committee
Devon Ralston, Ph.D.; Jo Koster, Ph.D.; and Matthew Fike, Ph.D. CAS – Department of English
Course Assignment
WRIT 501 – Ralston
Start Date
20-4-2018 12:00 PM
End Date
20-4-2018 2:00 PM
Snapchat, Smartphones, and New Media
Rutledge
The vast majority of scholarly work on Snapchat as a form of media, and specifically new media, has focused almost solely on the potential for the application to be used as a lewd form of often arbitrary communication between young people; however, in my view, that understanding of the technology and that focus are all too narrow and concerned with upractices that hardly begin to define the scope of usage for the Snapchat application. Using the research and work of a few important media and semiotics scholars applied to some primary research I will gather via a survey and coding system, this study considers the potential reasons for Snapchat’s mass popularity and the possibility of viewing Snapchat itself and its use as a reflection of the forces that will drive the digital, smartphone era forward. In terms of New Media and based on my research, Snapchat is a reflection of the social and cultural movement away from language as the only viable form of expression and communication of complex ideas. Its multimodal status and the participatory culture surrounding its use create a reflection of the forces that draw users into different specific interfaces via smartphones, and encourage users to use the application.
