A discursive examination of the use of emoji in WhatsApp groups : a cross-generational study

Abstract

Digitally-mediated communication is one of the most rapidly growing areas within the field of applied linguistics (Napoli 2018 ; Bou-Franch & Garcés-Conejos Blitvich 2019). Compared to widely investigated digital media such as Facebook, less attention has been paid to the discourse generated in WhatsApp (Calero-Vaquera 2014). Similarly, there is a paucity of research concerning the several roles that emoji play in these communicative contexts (Al Rashdi 2018). This paper scrutinises the use of emoji from a cross-generational approach, expanding research concerning digital practices among senior technology users (Cruz-Moya & Sánchez-Moya 2021). To this end, the multimodal discursive production of two generationally different Spanish WhatsApp groups is analysed. Findings elucidate the most recurrent semantic and pragmatic interpretations provided by members in both WhatsApp groups, contrasting evidence from their online exchanges and their responses to the questionnaires.