Análisis metaperceptivo de los elementos expresivos de Internet: clasificación y uso de emoticonos

Abstract

The expansion of the Internet in today's Society and the technological progress has expanded the communicative possibilities. Thus, the social aspect of the network has become popular and now it is a common part of people daily life.
In this context, the traditional writing has been modified to adapt itself to the expressive needs. The direct consequence of this is the increase in number and variety of so-called emoticons that are nowadays the most important expressive elements of the Internet.
This study intends to do a comprehensive study about the use and function of emoticons that people from different ages do in Computer Mediated Communication. For this reason, a sample of messages extracted of six different asynchronous forums has been analyzed with an interpretative-descriptive methodology. The results show that emoticons have become an essential element inside virtual conversations whose purpose goes beyond the introduction of expressive elements in the text.