The Social Function of Twitter Toward a Theory of Generic Constraints
Open Access
Author:
Rush, Elizabeth Thornton
Area of Honors:
Communication Arts and Sciences
Degree:
Bachelor of Arts
Document Type:
Thesis
Thesis Supervisors:
Kirtley Hasketh Wilson, Thesis Supervisor Lori Ann Bedell, Thesis Honors Advisor
Keywords:
Twitter crisis rhetoric genre Boston Marathon Bombing Antonio Martin
Abstract:
This thesis re-imagines Twitter as a genre of crisis rhetoric. As Twitter has developed into a journalistic platform that “reports” on public crises, it also has formed repeated patterns of communication to deal with the “social functions” that such crises necessitate. The discursive patterns that recur during moments of crisis exhibit several generic characteristics that result from people “acting together” on Twitter. Previous scholarly approaches to genre inform this study’s understanding of the fundamental human needs fulfilled on Twitter. In moments of violence and chaos, when a social order has been violated by human behavior, users take to the medium to fulfill three specific social functions: 1) to eliminate uncertainty; 2) to restore order by finding and punishing the party that is made guilty for the order’s violation; 3) to give everyday people agency, the power to contribute to the resolution. Identifying specific public events that sparked dramatic and highly emotional responses, this study explores Twitter as a service, a network, and an ever-evolving genre of crisis.