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79 Emotion and the internet

  • Kristyn Gorton
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Volume 3
This chapter is in the book Volume 3

Abstract

This chapter introduces the reader to broader theories of emotion and affect that underpin an engagement with online media. In so doing it argues that emotion connects individuals to their environments and to one another and flows across different media, places and contexts. More specifically, this chapter considers the concept of emotion through a close examination of the affective language in Kristen Roupenian’s viral rise to fame and contribution to the #MeToo movement. It will focus on Roupenian’s account of her instant notoriety alongside the public responses to her work. The case study is deployed as a mechanism through which we might think about both the structure of feeling around Roupenian’s rise to fame as a response to her short story “Cat Person” and the collective language and emotion used to display the sense of feeling it engenders. It also seeks to understand why this short story elicited such an affective online response with a view to examining ways in which emotion travels online and how it contributes to what Clare Hemmings (2012) has termed “affective solidarity”. This chapter situates itself within the study of emotion as an everyday or ordinary expression of feelings. It begins with a theoretical outline of the concepts of emotion and affect within theoretical work before moving on to address the case study on “Cat Person”.

Abstract

This chapter introduces the reader to broader theories of emotion and affect that underpin an engagement with online media. In so doing it argues that emotion connects individuals to their environments and to one another and flows across different media, places and contexts. More specifically, this chapter considers the concept of emotion through a close examination of the affective language in Kristen Roupenian’s viral rise to fame and contribution to the #MeToo movement. It will focus on Roupenian’s account of her instant notoriety alongside the public responses to her work. The case study is deployed as a mechanism through which we might think about both the structure of feeling around Roupenian’s rise to fame as a response to her short story “Cat Person” and the collective language and emotion used to display the sense of feeling it engenders. It also seeks to understand why this short story elicited such an affective online response with a view to examining ways in which emotion travels online and how it contributes to what Clare Hemmings (2012) has termed “affective solidarity”. This chapter situates itself within the study of emotion as an everyday or ordinary expression of feelings. It begins with a theoretical outline of the concepts of emotion and affect within theoretical work before moving on to address the case study on “Cat Person”.

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. C Perspectives of Cultural Studies, Literary Studies, Art Theory and Theory of Media
  4. 65 A survey of approaches to culture, art and media and their relation to emotions 1363
  5. XIII Perspectives of cultural studies on language and emotion
  6. 66 Memory theories and research from the perspective of language and emotion 1381
  7. 67 Autobiographical memory and emotion 1399
  8. XIV Affect theories in arts and literary scholarship
  9. 68 Literature and emotion 1417
  10. 69 Emotional creativity 1437
  11. 70 Emotion and language in aesthetic experiences 1471
  12. 71 Narrative genre and emotion 1490
  13. 72 Stylistic design elements of literary texts 1511
  14. 73 Love and rhythm in poetry and music 1529
  15. 74 The role and symbolic meanings of emotion in literary language 1558
  16. XV Emotion, media, and public discourse
  17. 75 Media, entertainment, and emotion 1591
  18. 76 Discourse linguistics and emotions in media 1609
  19. 77 Media and public emotions 1632
  20. 78 Social media and emotion 1655
  21. 79 Emotion and the internet 1675
  22. 80 Mediatized emotions, digitalized communication and globalization 1690
  23. 81 Emotions, language, and advertising 1707
  24. D Interdisciplinary and Application-Related Perspectives
  25. 82 A survey of sociological theories and approaches to communication and emotion 1725
  26. XVI Society and emotion
  27. 83 Words, poems and cultural meanings 1745
  28. 84 The social construction of emotion and its linguistic and communicative dimensions 1759
  29. 85 The social and cultural constitution of emotion in language, discourse and the body 1775
  30. 86 Hurtful words and hate speech 1794
  31. 87 Emotions and globalization 1816
  32. XVII Language and emotion in economics and business communication
  33. 88 Language and emotion in business communication 1831
  34. 89 Management, organizational communication, and emotion 1853
  35. 90 Marketing and the commercialization of emotions 1872
  36. XVIII Politics, law, and emotions
  37. 91 Diplomatic negotiations 1885
  38. 92 Emotion, language, and legal processes 1906
  39. 93 Emotional eyewitnesses and forensic questioning 1923
  40. 94 Law and emotion with specific regard to police and forensic aspects 1944
  41. 95 Law, literature, and emotion 1962
  42. XIX Religion, emotional language, and communication
  43. 96 Foundations in theolinguistics 1979
  44. 97 Emotions, discourse, and religion 1993
  45. XX Emotion and clinical settings
  46. 98 Language and emotion in health communication 2011
  47. 99 Emotion, regulation and therapy 2030
  48. 100 Language and emotion in psychotherapeutic interaction 2044
  49. 101 Embodied language in experiential therapy 2062
  50. 102 Emotional language impairments in autism 2092
  51. 103 Language and emotion in clinical populations 2105
  52. XXI Affective computing in human-machine interaction
  53. 104 The use of language in affective computing for human-computer interaction 2127
  54. 105 Emotions in affective human-computer interaction 2159
  55. 106 Affective dialogue systems 2178
  56. XXII Methodical and practical consequences for education, native language education, foreign language education and second language education
  57. 107 Emotion in language education and pedagogy 2195
  58. 108 Emotion in second and foreign language education 2218
  59. 109 Civic emotion, loyalty and linguistic belonging 2237
  60. Index: Language and Emotion – An International Handbook (Vols 1–3) 2247
https://doi.org/10.1515/9783110795486-015

Chapters in this book

  1. Frontmatter i
  2. Contents v
  3. C Perspectives of Cultural Studies, Literary Studies, Art Theory and Theory of Media
  4. 65 A survey of approaches to culture, art and media and their relation to emotions 1363
  5. XIII Perspectives of cultural studies on language and emotion
  6. 66 Memory theories and research from the perspective of language and emotion 1381
  7. 67 Autobiographical memory and emotion 1399
  8. XIV Affect theories in arts and literary scholarship
  9. 68 Literature and emotion 1417
  10. 69 Emotional creativity 1437
  11. 70 Emotion and language in aesthetic experiences 1471
  12. 71 Narrative genre and emotion 1490
  13. 72 Stylistic design elements of literary texts 1511
  14. 73 Love and rhythm in poetry and music 1529
  15. 74 The role and symbolic meanings of emotion in literary language 1558
  16. XV Emotion, media, and public discourse
  17. 75 Media, entertainment, and emotion 1591
  18. 76 Discourse linguistics and emotions in media 1609
  19. 77 Media and public emotions 1632
  20. 78 Social media and emotion 1655
  21. 79 Emotion and the internet 1675
  22. 80 Mediatized emotions, digitalized communication and globalization 1690
  23. 81 Emotions, language, and advertising 1707
  24. D Interdisciplinary and Application-Related Perspectives
  25. 82 A survey of sociological theories and approaches to communication and emotion 1725
  26. XVI Society and emotion
  27. 83 Words, poems and cultural meanings 1745
  28. 84 The social construction of emotion and its linguistic and communicative dimensions 1759
  29. 85 The social and cultural constitution of emotion in language, discourse and the body 1775
  30. 86 Hurtful words and hate speech 1794
  31. 87 Emotions and globalization 1816
  32. XVII Language and emotion in economics and business communication
  33. 88 Language and emotion in business communication 1831
  34. 89 Management, organizational communication, and emotion 1853
  35. 90 Marketing and the commercialization of emotions 1872
  36. XVIII Politics, law, and emotions
  37. 91 Diplomatic negotiations 1885
  38. 92 Emotion, language, and legal processes 1906
  39. 93 Emotional eyewitnesses and forensic questioning 1923
  40. 94 Law and emotion with specific regard to police and forensic aspects 1944
  41. 95 Law, literature, and emotion 1962
  42. XIX Religion, emotional language, and communication
  43. 96 Foundations in theolinguistics 1979
  44. 97 Emotions, discourse, and religion 1993
  45. XX Emotion and clinical settings
  46. 98 Language and emotion in health communication 2011
  47. 99 Emotion, regulation and therapy 2030
  48. 100 Language and emotion in psychotherapeutic interaction 2044
  49. 101 Embodied language in experiential therapy 2062
  50. 102 Emotional language impairments in autism 2092
  51. 103 Language and emotion in clinical populations 2105
  52. XXI Affective computing in human-machine interaction
  53. 104 The use of language in affective computing for human-computer interaction 2127
  54. 105 Emotions in affective human-computer interaction 2159
  55. 106 Affective dialogue systems 2178
  56. XXII Methodical and practical consequences for education, native language education, foreign language education and second language education
  57. 107 Emotion in language education and pedagogy 2195
  58. 108 Emotion in second and foreign language education 2218
  59. 109 Civic emotion, loyalty and linguistic belonging 2237
  60. Index: Language and Emotion – An International Handbook (Vols 1–3) 2247
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