Expanding pragmatics

Abstract

A pragmatic (rather than merely ‘extended’) perspective on internet user values regards both the value(s) of the interaction and those of its results. Firstly, a pragmatic evaluation presupposes that the interactants are agreed on what to evaluate and how, which implies the values being ordered in a ‘ranking’ according to importance. On the internet, such values depend on ‘likes’ or ‘hits’; the number of times a contribution has been accessed, even if negatively (in a so-called ‘shit storm’) makes it important. Secondly, being based on ranking, the evaluation is pragmatic: values are not a priori given, but emerge in interaction. Ranking presupposes the users’ accepting society’s values and collaborating in their creation; on the internet, this is done through ‘meaning making’ activities like ‘texting,’ ‘tweeting,’ or ‘instagramming.’ Current evaluation, in contrast to earlier, is ubiquitous, continuous, and accessible by i-Phone, i-Pad or other social-mediatic devices. Access and speed are important here; one cannot with impunity disregard a tweet, a writing on one’s Facebook, or an Instagram sent by one of one’s contacts.