FACEBOOK STATUS UPDATES: A SPEECH ACT ANALYSIS

The present study aimed at exploring the communicative functions of status updates on Facebook. Moreover, how identities were established and represented through language were also examined. For this purpose the status updates were analyzed through Searle’s Speech Act framework. The sample comprised 60 males and females in the age group of 18-24 years. A total of 171 status updates were collected for 5 consecutive days and then the data were categorized according to the devised coding. The results revealed that status messages were most frequently constructed with expressive speech acts, followed by assertives and directives. In addition, a new category of poetic verses was also found in the data. The findings also showed that various socialization patterns emerge through the sharing of feelings, information and ideas.