From Words to Images: The Impact of Visual vs. Verbal Communication in Social and Professional Settings

Tuba Latif; Aniqa Rashid; Nimra Noor; Huda Noor

doi:10.52700/ijlc.v6i1.285

Authors

Tuba Latif M.Phil. Scholar, Department of English, National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad (Faisalabad Campus).
Dr. Aniqa Rashid Assistant Professor, Department of English, National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad (Faisalabad Campus).
Nimra Noor M.Phil. Scholar, Department of English, National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad (Faisalabad Campus).
Huda Noor M.Phil. Scholar, Department of English, National University of Modern Languages, Islamabad (Faisalabad Campus).

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.52700/ijlc.v6i1.285

Keywords:

image-based communication, text-based communication, social media platforms, Media Richness Theory, professional communication, casual communication.

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the communication preferences across three main social media platforms; Instagram, Snapchat and WhatsApp through comparing image and video based communication in informal settings with the text based communication in professional contexts. The research utilizes a mixed methods approach by which data are collected from surveys and examined as to whether a relationship exists between how people use a platform and his or her preference for communication medium. It finds that users on Instagram and Snapchat share most of their casual content as images and videos, while we nevertheless see a preference for text in more formal discussions over WhatsApp. The insights from these findings are in terms of platform characteristics and context, posed through Media Richness Theory (MRT), Multimodal Social Semiotics (MSS) and Uses & Gratifications Theory (UGT), to how the choice of communication media is posed. In the future, digital communication will probably proceed along by the next technology, augmented reality (AR) and artificial intelligence (AI) and communication practices and preferences will develop in personal and professional settings.