Emotions in the Ether: Strategies for Effective Emotional Expression in Text-Messages

Andrew Albritton 1 *
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1 Missouri State University, USA
* Corresponding Author
Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, Volume 7, Issue 2, pp. 50-58. https://doi.org/10.29333/ojcmt/2590
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ABSTRACT

This essay offers an exploration of the practice of emotional expression in text-messages, and gives recommendations concerning how best to signify emotion when communicating with text-messages. Emotions can be shown in text-messages in two ways: With words and with orthography. Two potential problems associated with expressing emotions in text-messages are ambiguity of tone and disinhibited communicative behavior. Two of the advantages of expressing emotions in text-messages are ease of contact between interlocutors and the control text-message senders have over their messages. When the two methods of expressing emotion in text-messages are understood, the two problems are avoided, and the two benefits are embraced, text-messages can be more effective tools for sharing emotional meaning– and thus more effective tools for personal connection.
Keywords: emotional expression, text-messages

CITATION

Albritton, A. (2017). Emotions in the Ether: Strategies for Effective Emotional Expression in Text-Messages. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 7(2), 50-58. https://doi.org/10.29333/ojcmt/2590

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