Digital Semiotics in Practice: Educating on Social Network Interfaces
(2024) International Conference on New Culture of Signs and Media — Location: Seoul (2.November.2024)
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- Abstract
- Social network services (SNS) are an integral part of today’s media and digital culture. Individuals, particularly young people, spend a significant amount of time on these platforms. Due to their daily use and the standardized nature of web design, SNS interfaces have become so familiar that users often overlook their presence, role, and potential effects. This is concerning, as features like notifications, infinite scroll, and autoplay are known for their ability to capture attention and potentially foster problematic attachment or addiction. This paper explores the potential of semiotics as a tool for critical analysis of SNS interfaces. As technosemiotic devices, interfaces are composed of a combination of semiotic resources, primarily visual elements that represent information and guide the user in interacting with the system and making sense of it. Furthermore, interfaces employ auditory and haptic elements which further shape user experience. By examining these semiotic elements embedded within SNS interfaces, this paper shed light on their role in the transmission and production of meaning and their influence on users’ representations and behaviors, information consumption, interpersonal relationships, emotions, and identity construction. The objective of our study is to integrate such theoretical insights into a practical pedagogical framework to promote critical competencies of media literacy. Scholars argue that media literacy, defined as a set of critical competencies necessary to navigate and thrive in this mediated world, hinges on the ability to ask "how" and "why" questions about media forms and content and to recognize the constructed nature of symbol systems (Hobbs, 2010; 2017). In this context, this paper presents the design and initial tests of a media education activity which focuses on the semiotic (de)construction of SNS interfaces. The aim of the activity is to foster a better understanding and more conscious practices of these platforms and their interfaces among young people.
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Robbeets, C. (2024). Digital Semiotics in Practice: Educating on Social Network Interfaces. International Conference on New Culture of Signs and Media, Seoul. https://hdl.handle.net/2078.5/235941