Emotion work via digital visual communication: A comparative study between China and Japan

Abstract

Through the smartphone, the production and circulation of digital visual media have become as costless and accessible as audio and text-based communication. It would be challenging to be a contemporary ethnographer without engaging with digital practices which in Japan and China at least, tend towards being highly visual. Digital visual communication is recognised in literature as an effective and accessible form of communication, with an increasing number of studies in the field of digital anthropology, media studies and Internet studies exploring the consequences of digital images on social media. There is a pressing need to understand local forms of visual communication in the digital age, where the visual has become an essential part of daily communication. This article deals particularly with the rise of visual digital communication among older adults in China and Japan. Drawing on 16-month ethnographies conducted simultaneously between 2018 and 2019 in China and Japan, this article contributes to the discussion of visual communication in light of this semiotic shift happening online, which is then contextualised within people’s offline lives. The ethnographies in both China and Japan find that, first of all, visual communication via digital media enables more effective and efficient phatic communication and emotion work. In addition, the ethnographies point to a question about ‘authenticity’ in interpersonal communication. The ethnographies show that in some cases, the deployment of visual communication via the smartphone is not so much about being able to express ‘authentic’ personal feelings but rather, in being able to effectively establish a digital public façade according to social norms.

Aesthetics and semiotics in 21st century visual communications: Pedagogical and sociocultural aspects

“…Social media platforms utilize aesthetics and semiotics to create engaging user interfaces and encourage content sharing. Visual elements, such as emojis, stickers, and GIFs, incorporate semiotic cues that communicate emotions and ideas in a concise manner (Wang & Haapio-Kirk, 2021). Additionally, aesthetics help create a visually appealing online presence, attracting and retaining users.…”

WeChat online visual language among Chinese Gen Z: virtual gift, aesthetic identity, and affection language

“…In addition, the semantic sticker design approach allows seniors to comprehend the emotions represented by stickers without the need for written descriptions, which helps them to efficiently engage with their friends, family, children, and grandchildren (Chen, 2020). Wang and Haapio-Kirk (2021) conducted comparative fieldwork in China and Japan and found that emojis are a form of etiquette that conforms to local social norms and can express difficult emotions; moreover, they observed an elderly person using three stickers to express a modest attitude of gratitude after 2019) suggest that computermediated communication can facilitate expressions of affection in romantic partners, convey important emotional messages to potential partners, and be associated with more successful intimate connexions. Subsequently, the use of emojis plays a significant role in sending and receiving sexually suggestive messages, and extraversion and casual partners use sexually suggestive emojis more frequently (Thomson et al, 2018).…”

“…These studies could generate a better understanding of the social logic behind the graphicons used. Although Wang and Haapio-Kirk (2021) refer to how Chinese and Japanese social etiquettes affect the use of graphicons by Japanese and Chinese elders, most studies have not based their analyses on regional or national social norms or cultural values. However, as discourse and communication styles are socialised by individuals and formed under the influence of various factors, such as class, culture and economy, the practice of graphicons can be used to understand a group's cultural and moral values, which can be further analysed in future studies on visual language.…”

Introduction: Smartphone-based visual normativity: Approaches from digital anthropology and communication studies

“…These two papers showcase the role smartphone-mediated images take in evolving social identity, personhood and self-expression. For example, Wang and Haapio-Kirk (2021) widen this discussion of visual communication beyond photography through their examination of the role of the emotional labour accomplished through stickers, which can convey that which is difficult to put into words. Together, these four papers help us to appreciate how the current concern with multiple, relational and affective meanings in visual communication via the smartphone are not simply the result of new technology but are embedded in the production of social norms and life meanings within social practice.…”