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TYPE
Original Research
PAGE NO.
101-110
10.37547/tajssei/Volume07Issue02-10
OPEN ACCESS
SUBMITED
14 December 2024
ACCEPTED
16 January 2025
PUBLISHED
18 February 2025
VOLUME
Vol.07 Issue 02 2025
CITATION
Dildor Otajonova. (2025). Types of speech internet communication and
functionality of its graphical display elements. The American Journal of
Social Science and Education Innovations, 7(02), 101
–
110.
https://doi.org/10.37547/tajssei/Volume07Issue02-10
COPYRIGHT
© 2025 Original content from this work may be used under the terms
of the creative commons attributes 4.0 License.
Types of speech internet
communication and
functionality of its
graphical display elements
Dildor Otajonova
Independent Researcher (DSc), Associate Professor, Doctor of Philosophy
in Philological Sciences (PhD), Chirchik State Pedagogical University,
Chirchik, Uzbekistan
Abstract:
This study examines the typology and
functionality of graphical display elements in modern
speech internet communication. Specifically, the
research aimed to analyze different types of internet
communication and their non-verbal components,
thereby identifying and categorizing structural,
functional, and semantic characteristics of these
communication forms.
To achieve these objectives, the study employed
qualitative content analysis methodology to examine
various forms of internet communication including
blogs,
social
networks,
email,
and
internet
conversations. In particular, the analysis focused on four
main
categories
of
graphical
elements:
emoticons/smileys, emojis, graphic stickers, and
memes, examining their communicative functions,
contextual
usage
patterns,
and
semantic
interpretations.
Subsequently, the findings reveal that online interaction
represents a complex system incorporating both verbal
and non-verbal elements, where graphical display
elements serve multiple functions beyond decoration.
Furthermore, the
research
demonstrates that
emoticons primarily express emotional states, while
emojis offer semantic precision through categorized
pictograms. Additionally, stickers provide character-
based emotional expression, whereas memes serve as
cultural touchstones that build community and establish
shared understanding among users.
Consequently, the study concludes that graphical
display elements have become integral to modern
digital literacy, thus compensating for the absence of
traditional non-verbal cues in digital communication
while creating new forms of expression unique to the
digital environment. Moreover, the formality and
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informality of internet communication are determined
by both platform characteristics and addressee
relationships, with graphical elements adapting their
roles accordingly in each context. These findings,
therefore, have significant implications for educators,
communication specialists, and platform developers
who must consider the fundamental role of these
elements
in
facilitating
effective
online
communication.
Keywords:
Speech internet communication, internet
language,
virtual
communication,
non-verbal
elements, emoticons, emoji, graphic stickers, memes,
digital literacy, clip thinking.
Introduction:
Given the rapid development of
information technologies in the modern world,
computer texts and internet communication texts are
increasingly becoming objects of research, making
them difficult for linguists to study due to the
peculiarities of their content. For example, when
studying legal texts (court decisions, lawsuits, etc.),
experts face difficulties in identifying the author of
these texts and/or determining whether they were
created by one person, because the indicated texts are
template-based
in
nature,
containing
similar
structures, quotes from legislative texts, and other
elements.
It is very difficult to determine the informational
significance of an individual’s wri
tten speech
characteristics; this is only possible in probabilistic
form. In expert practice, there are specific cases of
identifying the author of legal texts, with a minimum
volume of 6 pages (Sviridova, 2021). Additionally, SMS
text messages frequently become objects of linguistic
research both from the perspective of identifying their
authors and from the perspective of detecting threats,
insults, etc. The difficulties in studying them are related
to their brevity, lack of logical completeness in the text,
presence of statements, profanity, and other factors.
Identifying the author of email texts is further
complicated by the presence of automatic error
correction, the possibility of compilation by multiple
individuals, insufficient samples for comparative
research, and other factors. The indicated objects
depend on the volume of text provided for research,
its construction features, and the availability of
comparative material.
The relevance of studying the semantics and
pragmatics of non-verbal components of electronic
text messages for forensic linguistic expertise is
associated with the high level of dynamism in the
development of modern communication means in
internet mass media, which can significantly alter the
semantic concept of polycode text, making it more
difficult for specialists to ‘decode’ the semantics.
Electronic media using the Internet, social networks,
chats, and forums have today become part of everyday
life for populations in the world's most developed
countries.
The number and geography of Internet users is
constantly expanding. Social networks are becoming
increasingly popular among the population. With the
development of computer technology and the Internet,
new forms of text have begun to develop, which are
unique not only linguistically but also technologically.
One of these forms consists in the fact that, in reality,
the text itself only represents its external appearance.
First, these methods of expressing non-verbal means of
interpersonal communication began to be used in
communication services, particularly in email and SMS
messages via mobile devices, where the original authors
used standard keyboards to type the above characters.
According to famous philologist M.Krongauz, written
speech has become much more popular than oral
speech: “Today, such expansion of written speech
means that oral communication with a person is
perceived as a kind of burden, worry, perhaps even
invasion. Although we use written language on the
Internet, it is live communication that corresponds to
our spoken language. When we chat, we almost never
use complex sentences, participial and additional
phrases, and if we do, it is very rare. The modern
language of the Internet is more of an oral language in
its structure” (“Maxim Krongauz”, 2019).
On the other hand, when moving into the realm of
written internet communication, one gets the
opportunity to hide their true feelings, intentions,
emotional state under the guise of aggressive laughter,
animation, sticker or other pictogram, and even express
their voice and meaning. Intonation can emerge during
verbal communication.
The development of information technologies and their
penetration into all spheres of social relations is
associated not only with changes in language and
speech communications but also with the emergence of
new phenomena affecting the security of individuals,
society, and the state. It is no coincidence that among
the state’s priority tasks in ensuring national security
and scientific and technical progress in Uzbekistan, the
problem of ensuring personal information security in
internet media is also noted (PD-158, 2023).
Additionally, the Information Development Strategy of
our Republic notes the negative impact of internet
communications on mass consciousness. The pace of
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development of modern technologies, the creation,
processing and distribution of information has
significantly exceeded the ability of many to assimilate
and apply knowledge. The shift in perception of the
surrounding world on the internet from scientific,
educational and cultural to entertainment and
reference has led to a new model of perception
–
called
clip thinking, characterized by mass superficial
perception of information. This form of obtaining
information simplifies influencing people’s views and
preferences, helps form established behavior patterns,
which gives advantage to states and organizations with
information distribution technologies in achieving
economic and political goals.
Thanks to the capabilities of the Internet, users can
easily post text and visual information online and make
it accessible to an unlimited number of people,
allowing them to promote extreme views, ideas and
perspectives, attract followers, create and organize
groups, communities of interest, including those that
contradict rules of law, morality and ethics, spread
defamatory and extremist materials. Interactivity and
the ability to quickly and anonymously exchange
information between users allows aggressors to
actively use the information and telecommunications
network to achieve illegal goals.
METHODS
This study employed a qualitative content analysis
methodology to examine different types of speech
internet communication and their graphical display
elements. The primary method involved systematic
documentation and analysis of various forms of
internet communication including blogs, social
networks, email, and internet conversations, with
particular attention to both formal and informal
communication patterns. The analysis focused on
identifying and categorizing the structural, functional,
and semantic characteristics of these communication
types.
For analyzing graphical display elements, we
conducted a comprehensive review of four main
categories:
emoticons/smileys,
emojis,
graphic
stickers, and memes. Each category was examined
through
multiple
parameters
including
their
communicative functions, contextual usage patterns,
and semantic interpretations. Special attention was
paid to documenting how these elements contribute
to meaning-making in digital communication contexts.
The research process included collecting and analyzing
examples of internet communication from various
platforms to identify patterns in how graphical
elements are used to convey meaning and emotion.
This involved systematic documentation of different
usage contexts, cataloging various interpretations of
similar graphical elements, and analyzing how these
elements function within different communication
scenarios.
The analytical framework was built on examining both
the technical aspects of these communication tools and
their sociolinguistic implications. This included analyzing
how different graphical elements are used across
various platforms, their role in formal versus informal
communication, and their impact on message
interpretation. The analysis considered both the
sender's intended meaning and the potential
interpretations by recipients, particularly in cases where
graphical elements could carry multiple meanings
depending on context.
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
Text (internet message) as a product of electronic
communication is a semantically and systematically
organized unity of linguistic and non-linguistic signs
created and distributed on the internet, used for a
specific purpose. Its main characteristics are:
•
thematic
conditionality
(content
is
concentrated around a specific topic);
•
situational conditionality (implementation in a
specific communicative situation characteristic of the
relevant field of communication);
•
dynamism (the topic can change even in the
same communicative situation;
•
the tone of speech can be changed);
•
social orientation;
•
heterogeneous structure;
•
involuntariness, vagueness of boundaries.
From a content perspective, communicative situations
and thematic coherence (connectivity) can act as signs
of internet communication integrity, and emotional and
other non-verbal signals (serving to indicate the end of
conversation, making pauses, switching to another
topic, providing emotional impact (Pigina, 2013)) and
others can act as formal indicators. Internet
communication is not just a hybrid of verbal and written
speech forms
–
it is a new form of language existence
and activity that combines features of verbal and
written speech forms, as well as reflects the influence of
computer technologies. In general, the following
characteristics of internet communication can be
distinguished:
•
virtuality;
•
distance in space and time;
•
mediation (due to being carried out through
technical means);
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•
intertextuality;
•
creolization/polycode;
•
combination
of
figurative-visual
and
figurative-auditory components;
•
imaginative;
•
anonymity;
•
network structure;
•
hypertextuality;
•
multimedia;
•
multimodality;
•
multilingualism;
•
verbal and written nature of communication;
•
focus on visual perception of messages;
•
orientation towards clip thinking (Galyashina,
2021).
Clip thinking is distinguished by linguistic minimalism
and speech poverty, which is compensated by the use
of pictograms as a means of conveying emotions or
information messages (Tsybina et al., 2016). This is, in
fact, a cognitive style characterized by “a process of
reflecting many different properties without taking
into account the interrelationships of objects,
fragmented
information
flow,
illogicality,
heterogeneity of incoming information, high speed of
transition between pieces of information, as well as
the lack of holistic perception of the world around us”
(Kupchinskaya & Yudalevich, 2019).
Moreover, the language of pictograms is much older
than alphabetic characters; therefore, for a person
with clip thinking, it is easier to perceive information in
the form of images rather than letters, numbers, and
formulas. M.Krongauz also draws attention to this
phenomenon when discussing punctuation marks,
emoticons, and stickers. Given the importance of
understanding the specific characteristics of these
objects for forensic linguistic expertise, I will provide
the entire quote: “Emojis have become a crucial
element of communication. A smile is usually placed at
the end of a sentence
–
in fact, it has become so
commonplace that its absence causes concern.
Stickers and emojis are not linguistic signs. If, let us say,
a smile is still a sign that performs the functions of
punctuation marks and somewhere the functions of
intonation, then the situation with stickers is different:
they are not integrated into the text but exist
separately as complete messages. Furthermore, each
of them can be read in different ways. I can interpret a
sticker as a single word, I can interpret it as an entire
phrase, I can read an entire text into it, but there is no
canonical reading for a sticker” (Pronina, n.d.).
Network communication today is a direct part of the
social life of mass media, forming a new information
environment in which other types of relationships
develop. This communication format allows eliminating
connection with people’s location. This phenomenon is
associated with the penetration and influence of
information technologies on society. Such innovations
define the communication process as cross-border.
Through internet communication, new groups united by
similar interests and values are formed. People who
form a new communication system on the internet
simultaneously create a type of internet communication
based on their own norms, rules of behavior, sanctions,
emotional stress and the state of the interlocutor
(Biryukova, 2014).
Internet communication can be viewed from the
perspective of a phenomenon that includes both
cognitive and semantic components. Both aspects are
closely connected with mental modules, speech scripts
and appeals, that is, in essence, they represent different
models of communication in consciousness. Y.S.
Kubryakova reveals the essence of this approach to the
definition of internet communication speech as “a
cognitive process aimed at creating real speech,
creating a speech work, while the text is viewed as the
final result of the communicative activity process, as a
result of which it acquires a certain complete rigid
form”. She reveals the uniqueness of this
communication in the characteristics of interaction,
where the interaction of communicators is carried out
through the transmission of knowledge, judgments,
facts, attitudes, opinions and moods. Kubryakova also
points to the determination of verbal network
communication by linguistic means, which gives the
message certain linguistic features: integrity or
instantaneousness; static or dynamic; ability to control
or its absence (Kubryakova, 2012).
Internet communication is a type of communication
between groups of people, a cognitive process in
interpersonal communication, where the purpose is
accompanied by a group of people both directly (face-
to-face) and indirectly through forums, blogs, portals
–
in general. The term “addressability” refers to the flow
of internet communication for the purpose of sending
different types of information, taking into account their
advantages or disadvantages in human life. The
connotative meaning of addressability is interpreted as
a
multi-layered
process
in
speech
internet
communication. This characteristic of internet text
includes the intention to establish and develop new
connections, questioning and subjective evaluation
(Shmakov, 2014).
According to scholar Y.N. Litvin, verbal communication
on the internet establishes certain signs and signals of
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aesthetic, philosophical, and ethical information to
further define and promote textual and intertextual
associations, to control the process of message
reception by the recipient, interprets hidden meanings
in the consciousness of “codes”, including positive or
negative characteristics of emotional mood. The
speech of the addresser and recipient has an a priori
creative and determining personal motive.
The most prominent feature of verbal Internet
communication is the personal form of interaction. It is
believed that both participants in this type of
communication perceive their interlocutor as a unique
partner who relies on their specific professional
qualities, emotional environment, psychological and
moral attitudes, self-esteem, and the same attitude
towards themselves (Trofimova, 2014).
The
following
types
of
network
speech
communications are typically distinguished:
1.
Online communication (chat): with a single
recipient, choosing any communication channel or
with a very large number of recipients (for example,
streaming).
2.
Long-term communication, where messages
reach the interlocutor or a group of people over a
certain period of time.
The essence of internet communication is that subjects
have 2 opposing sides of communication: sending
information and receiving messages. From this we can
conclude that this process is mutual or bilateral
(Lisikhina, 2008). Internet communication is divided
into 4 categories:
1.
Asynchronous one-to-one communication
(email).
2.
“Many
-to-
many”
asynchronous
communication (mail deliveries, notifications, access
confirmation requests, i.e., messages related to a
specific topic).
3.
Synchronous one-to-one communication that
forms around specific topics
–
games, conversations.
4.
Asynchronous communication, where the
interlocutor focuses on searching sites for information.
It is carried out in a “one
-to-
one”, “one
-to-
many” (web
pages) format (Lasswell, 1999).
T.Y.
Vinogradova
identifies
the
following
characteristics of speech internet communication
(Vinogradova, 2004):
Anonymity
. Even taking into account the possibility of
obtaining certain personal information and, perhaps, a
photo of the interlocutor during communication, this is
very little for identifying the interlocutor. In most
cases, this communication format is an expression of
information that does not correspond to reality. Due to
the anonymity of addressing recipients whose
information cannot be verified, the level of criminal
liability, psychological and social danger
–
abnormality,
irresponsibility, excessive emancipation
–
decreases.
For this reason, an anonymous person may feel freedom
to express their thoughts that do not correspond to the
law
–
for example, threats, defamation, insults:
•
The influence of stereotypes on forming an
established opinion about the interlocutor in synthesis
with a desired set of personal qualities of the addressee.
•
Free decision to establish communication and
connection between interlocutors.
•
Imperfection
of
emotional
transmission
completeness of the message. However, it should be
noted that by 2021, information technologies have
reached such a level that non-verbal communication
means allow participants to use all methods of
expressing their emotional state
–
graphic and
animation elements.
•
Behavioral intention that differs from reality
–
outside the network. The interlocutor tries to create
another personality with various achievements and
roles.
It should be considered that the nature of internet
communication may differ depending on its type.
Blog
. In virtual space today, the blogosphere is
becoming the object of research for many scientists in
various fields of activity: linguistics, semantics,
psychology, sociology. The reason is that blogging is a
special type of internet communication with speech
characteristics. Blog structure includes interaction with
mass audience, where the following operations are
carried out to implement and express one’s speech in
any form (video, text, audio, audiovisual)
–
posting,
commenting, reading, editing, copywriting, text
production, script creation, applying effects, and so on.
Such actions create the blogger’s personality system,
while also defining them as an individual linguistic
personality. It should be noted that blogs can exist in
both formal and informal internet speech. The author-
blog
ger’s free expression of thoughts can be carried out
without form, restrictions, established norms and rules
–
without informal blogs. Additionally, the blogger can
appear as a specialist in the role of addressee of
professional communication to a potential audience
–
students, for example.
Social networks
. This type of speech internet
communication is considered the most relevant among
others. The communication characteristics lie in the
functions of social networks: participation and creation
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of personal information groups, personal and chat
format correspondence with friends, content
discussion in thematic groups, creating comments,
maintaining your personal page, creating podcasts and
clips. Social networks not only focus on communication
between users but are also an analogue of real life.
. Email (from English email, e-mail, electronic
mail) is the technology and services for sending and
receiving electronic messages (“letters” or “electronic
letters”) through a distributed (including global)
computer network. The essence of email is that the
addressee sends text placed in a file (address field) to
a designated and registered address for subsequent
reading by the recipient at any time.
Internet conversations
. Chat (from English chat
–
conversation, chatting) is a means of exchanging
messages through a computer network in real-time, as
well as software that enables such communication.
The main feature of chats is communication in real-
time or close to it, which distinguishes conversation
from forums and other means. Now in chats, you can
express your feelings by sending stickers, smileys,
emojis, gifs and pictures that reflect and convey the
mood of the interlocutor.
Non-verbal communication in online communication
can be formal and informal. The first type is
characteristic of a normative and regulated
communicative situation. Lack of restrictions,
emotional richness, structural complexity
–
are
characteristics for informal communication, where
feelings, temperament and mood of interlocutors are
of particular importance.
An important task of the research is to consider the
specific features of informal and formal internet
communication. The fact is that there are factors that
determine the formality and informality of
communication on the internet:
1. Platform
. This could be an online store where a
customer connects with a seller to discuss delivery
details of goods. Of course, this example shows the
formal nature of communication limited by a certain
model of seller behavior
–
using words and phrases like
‘You’; ‘Hello!’; ‘Thank you for your order’ and others.
However, in VK social network, forums, streaming
services, messengers, there is already a different
format of communication
–
freer and without social
responsibility to the recipient.
2. Addressee
. Depending on the addressee, the form
and, of course, the content of the message is
constructed according to formal communication
requirements. For example, if a letter to a teacher is
needed, from the point of view of moral norms, such a
letter’s heading
should indicate scientific degree and
position. Normativity exists in messages sent to medical
workers of legal, state, city and public organizations.
However, in correspondence with friends and
acquaintances, the communication format will be
completely different. In this paragraph, you can also
include a category such as ‘time’ that determines
communication time at each stage: unfamiliarity,
getting to know the addressee, establishing and
maintaining relationships, friendship, enmity, hatred,
respect and others, and so on. The format of verbal
internet communication may change at different stages
of communication with the interlocutor.
Speech internet communication has both verbal and
non-verbal characteristics. Because the modern
information environment is a world of visible images,
picture, image, sign represents easier, more convenient,
understandable communication, we will focus on non-
verbal means of internet communication. Verbal speech
internet communication can be accompanied by emojis,
gif animations, smileys, stickers, your own signature and
photo (for example, selfie) and even memes to show the
mood of the interlocutor at a certain time:
1. Emoticons or smileys
. In the 21st century, a person’s
social life comes with expressions of emotional mood
through displaying real emotions
–
anger, joy, grief, fear
and virtual feelings using fonts, font sizes and
punctuation marks. This was an inconvenient, long and
ineffective way of showing emotions experienced
during a certain period of communication with the
communicator.
To
simplify
the
process
of
demonstrating feelings, users began to refer to theater
stage directions. In message text, square brackets
showing various contextual situations and subjects’
moods can often be seen: ‘I’m sad’; ‘funny’; ‘I’m
laug
hing’; ‘amazement’; ‘I’m afraid’; ‘scary’. Soon,
comments were replaced with short combinations of
standard computer characters
–
emoticons, smileys.
Smileys, otherwise called emograms (smile), are
pictograms consisting of punctuation marks, letters and
numbers that express certain emotions.
The first emoticon was used for marketing purposes by
many companies. However, this graphic smiley achieved
worldwide popularity in the 1970s due to the slogan
‘Have a Happy Day’. Along with this slogan, the smile
became recognized in almost all countries, which led to
rapid growth in the production of postcards, outerwear
and badges where the smile could be depicted.
S.Fahlman is considered the father of the familiar digital
emotional ‘:
-
)’. The rapid growth of the inte
rnet industry
influenced the mass use of the smiley as an object of
projection on any surface to attract attention and sell
goods using this smiley.
2. Emoji
. The significant impact of technology
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development in the IT field helped create a unified
form of emotional visualization. This, in turn, led
smartphone manufacturers to create additional sets of
traditional smileys, providing their users with a special
emoji keyboard.
The most important difference from simple smileys is
the emoji image and large sets divided into entire
categories. The first compositional sets of emojis
appeared in Japan in 1999, authored by Sh.Kurita
(Pigina, 2013). The period when emoji achieved great
popularity in Europe and the USA began after Apple
added the emoji keyboard to its iOS operating system.
As a result, emoji began to be used in SMS
communication on any mobile device and social
networks. The communicative functions of smileys,
somewhat similar to the functions of emoticons and
smileys, are determined according to the initial
intention of the addresser:
The main characteristic of emoji is the emotional
function of complementing, adding, and applying.
Emoji demonstrates the specific emotion or mental
state of the author who sent it. The sign helps
determine the subject’s at
titude to the result of the
speech process on the internet, to the situation, facts,
and to the person themselves. Usually, this function is
expressed
through
pictograms
depicting
manifestations of love, fear, joy, surprise, confusion,
anger, doubt, gratitude signs and others:
1: Siz menga bu borada ko‘p yordam berdingiz (You
helped me a lot in this matter).
2: Va buni qanday tushunish kerak?! (And how should
this be understood?!
3: “Ozgina yetmas ekansiz, menimcha... (You’re a bit
lacking, I think...).
Some emojis are also clear in terms of semantic
interpretations.
The point is that this keyboard has several emoji
grouped by themes (blocks)
–
smileys and people,
animals and nature, flags, food and drinks, activities,
objects, travel and places, with symbols. These
pictograms serve an additional function
–
expressing a
single meaning without emotional load. For example,
the pictogram of “ambulance” (“tez yordam”),
“pancake” (“krep”) or “running” (“yugurish”)
represents real information and expresses this or that
object of reality without evaluating personality:
1: Kecha men Ozone-da ajoyib A kurdim 2: Sizning
go‘zal 86
-
ni ko‘rishni istardim
(1: I saw a great A on Ozone yesterday 2: I would love
to see your beautiful 86)
Due to the fact that some emojis can have only one
meaning, they help the author to shorten the text
message while maintaining information integrity. Many
emojis indeed save time in the process of virtual
communication. After all, it is much faster to put a
symbol instead of writing out the whole word. The
process becomes creative due to the variety and
variability of emojis. For example, different colors of the
“heart” (“yurak) pictogram or “taxi” (“taksi”) shape,
different directions of the “arrow” (“o‘q”).
1: GL ni aylantiring,
keyin _ dan o‘ting va siz u yerda siz!
(1: Turn GL, then go through _ and you’re there!)
2: Bugun Oy tutilish... (2: Today is a lunar eclipse...)
In such case, the “arrow” (“o‘q”) emoji metonymically
takes on the meaning of “go right” (“o‘ngga borish”).
Here, the emotional component is expressed only
through exclamation marks. Therefore, the wide range
of emojis helps significantly reduce information
transmission time in speech Internet communication.
Along with clear, semantically precise pictograms,
attention should be paid to emojis that combine several
meanings depending on the context. For example, the
“open palms forward” emoji: sometimes it is difficult to
determine in what sense it appears to the interlocutor.
The meaning of an emoji reflecting a particular gesture
is supported by general information about this non-
verbal means of communication, which is briefly
described in the dictionary “Gestures and Facial
Expressions in Russian Speech” (Akishina et al., 1991).
Internet
language
tends
to
change
towards
simplification and brevity, taking into account individual
characteristics of human information perception. Online
messages have undergone similar changes. The point is
that emoji, as mentioned above, adds a distinct meaning
to the author’s text mess
age expressed through
emotional coloring in relation to the information
content. Emoji contributed to the creation of
abbreviations and shortenings, for example: “lol”
(funny), “sps” (thanks), “zch” (welcome), “omg” (oh my
god), “bb” (bye bye (xayr)), “gg”
(good game, good chat
(yaxshi o‘yin, yaxshi muloqot)), “kek” (funny), “imho” (in
my humble opinion), “xz” (I do not know).
These examples are very often used together with
smileys. However, such forms of usage are only notable
for the informal type of internet communication.
Along with marking pictograms in relation to objects of
reality, emoji can be used for “reading” that expresses
meaning and communication function simultaneously.
In this case, the result after using emoji in this sense
ends with a positive response, reaction. This emoji
resembles nodding as a sign of approval:
1: Kofe buyurtma berishim kerakmi? (1: Should I order
coffee?)
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2: ha (2: Yes)
In this speech modulation, two emojis acting in a
synergistic position can indicate a positive response
option while also conveying a sense of awkwardness
from the sender’s message.
3. Graphic stickers
. Stickers have many characteristics
similar to emoji and perform some of the functions we
discussed. Currently, interest in stickers is being
actively enhanced by sticker shops in messengers and
social networks, for example, on Facebook and
Telegram or VK. Here are the characteristics of graphic
stickers:
•
The main difference between stickers is
depicting emotional mood through a specific character
that shows multiple characteristic behavioral traits.
•
Mainly, the emotional position of the
character resembles the consumption needs of the
audience’s constantly changing youth resonance
(Krylov, 2017). For example:
•
Limits emotional mood transmission due to
physical impossibility of using certain stickers because
of their absence in the set.
•
Frequent updates of sticker packs allow users
of different platforms to show their attitude to the
situation in the world. For example, many authors of
sticker sets have added a sticker reflecting their
character’s attitude to COVID
-19 to their set:
Sticker prices. In some social networks, like VK, you
need to pay a certain amount to buy a stickerpack (set
of stickers). But mainly, stickers are free.
•
Stickers are references to memes. The fact is
that popular sticker packs often make references in the
form of similarity, incomplete identification with a real
meme in the relevant culture.
4. Memes
. A meme is an information and
communication complex that forms a socio-cultural
environment associated with the word and is mainly
transmitted through social networks. If an addressee
who sees content expressing a hyperbolized emotional
reaction in a certain life situation characteristic of a
particular social group belongs to this group, then
when a similar situation arises later, the probability of
repeating this meme or wanting to keep it in memory
of the meme seen by interlocutors and repeat it is very
high. The main difference of a meme from other
methods
of
expression
in
speech
internet
communications is implemented by highlighting the
universality and comprehensiveness of any process
(with its subsequent positive or negative evaluation),
as well as emphasizing relevance to an event,
occurrence, fact. Let us list some characteristics of a
meme that exists in the process of word
communication on the internet:
a. Humorous orientation
. This characteristic focuses on
emphasizing the specific features of communication
interaction. Meme culture is a wholeness and unity
consisting of jokes, proverbs, sayings, euphemisms,
aphorisms, meta-irony, and post-irony. The emphasis
on the essence of a meme is directed at humorous
examination of reality, therefore the recipient only
understands and pays attention to memes that are
relevant
and
correspond
to
their
personal
characteristics.
b. A meme is always monologic in its focus of attention
.
The addressee cannot connect with the recipient
–
the
meme’s author and cannot establish effective
communication. Mass appeal, popularity and humorous
effect limits most recipients to expressions of
disagreement, discontent and relatively speaking,
forces audiences to adapt to such messages without
additional objection. Based on this, a meme is a
combination of approving opinion from the majority of
social network users with subsequent spread of the
meme.
c. Regulation of personal interests
. Most memes are
distinguished by a specific type of communication, but
cannot adapt to dynamically changing interests. If a
meme becomes popular
–
is frequently sent, recognized
–
in the future it can either change and create a way to
shape existing communication needs or, conversely,
hinder the development of interests, aspirations and
needs.
d. Information
. Through memes, interlocutors get the
impression that at a particular time they are part of a
specific speech and are capable of understanding its
elements, context and reading the necessary
information. Also, a meme is an indicator of changing
social needs in the world, due to which it changes. In
social networks, a meme is a litmus test that determines
the level of participation in the process of verbal
internet communication and becomes an additional
method of transmitting any information.
A meme is a means of community building. The main
function of a meme in verbal internet communication is
to bring people together, share similar interests, sense
of humor, understanding of situation and context. Let us
say 10 people in a social network who do not know each
other join a conversation about cars, uniting and
supporting each other to discuss only relevance,
novelty, technical characteristics, fashion trends for
Lexus drivers. In this case, memes sent to this
conversation are likely to be received correctly and
positively and won't lead to misunderstanding in group
communication.
e. A meme is individuality
. For communicators on the
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internet, it is necessary to adhere to signs and other
attributes that distinguish users from others. The clear
effect of individualization will be a meme sent by the
addressee to the chat. The characteristics, content and
contextual meaning itself
–
all these indicators of the
meme passively refer the recipient to the sender’s
cognitive processes and qualities: “Why did you send
it?” (Nima uchun uni yubordingiz?); “He has a good
sense
of humor” (U yaxshi hazil tuyg‘usiga ega); “He
has a strange sense of humor” (Uning g‘alati hazil
tuyg‘usi bor); “You are immoral” (Siz axloqsizsiz); “You
don’t understand what we’re talking about” (Siz nima
haqida gapirayotganimizni tushunmaysiz).
Thus, we have examined the typology of non-verbal
means of communication in virtual communication.
Graphic elements reflect the emotional state of the
speech subject and thereby predispose the user to a
subsequent response. Emoticons and smileys
consisting of punctuation marks, letters and numbers
expressing certain emotions have an initial purpose
–
to show emotional state and express attitude to the
topic of discussion, to the recipient themselves or even
to greeting. Emoji are virtual communication objects
derived from smileys with more visualization and
detail. There are a very large number of smileys divided
into categories
–
these can be objects, pictograms,
emotions themselves, animals and flags. The main
characteristic of emoji is the variety of communicative
roles.
Additionally, another important graphic element is
stickers that show attitude towards emotion and
communication subject through repetition of a certain
character. Stickers differ from emojis and smileys
because they have the strongest connection to real-
time context
–
reflecting the emotional state of the
current situation. Memes play a dual role in modern
internet communication content: on one hand, it is an
information product of consumption, on the other
hand, it shapes consumer culture. A meme functions as
a system of attributes that serves as a digital version of
social signals used by humans to give non-verbal
signals to people about their qualities and desires.
Since creating a meme for self-expression is very
difficult, the recipient begins to search for humorous
designs that are useful for themselves in recipient
groups and from other users, which leads to repetition
and viral spread of memes.
CONCLUSION
Through extensive analysis of modern internet
communication, this study has demonstrated that
online interaction represents a complex system
incorporating both verbal and non-verbal elements,
with graphical display elements playing an increasingly
crucial role in conveying meaning and emotion.
Furthermore, through systematic examination of
various communication platforms including blogs, social
networks, email, and internet conversations, we have
identified distinct patterns in how users employ
different graphical elements to enhance their digital
communications.
Building upon these observations, the research reveals
that
graphical
display
elements
in
internet
communication serve multiple functions beyond mere
decoration. Specifically, emoticons, emojis, stickers, and
memes each contribute uniquely to digital discourse,
with emojis offering semantic precision through
categorized pictograms, stickers providing character-
based emotional expression, and memes serving as
cultural touchstones that build community and establish
shared understanding among users. This evolution
traces a clear progression from simple punctuation-
based emoticons to sophisticated tools for conveying
complex meanings and emotions in digital spaces.
Moreover, the findings indicate that the formality and
informality of internet communication are determined
by both platform characteristics and addressee
relationships, with graphical elements adapting their
roles accordingly in each context. In particular, the
research emphasizes how these elements effectively
compensate for the absence of traditional non-verbal
cues in digital communication, thereby helping users
overcome the limitations of text-based interaction while
simultaneously creating new forms of expression
unique to the digital environment.
Consequently, the implications of this research extend
beyond theoretical understanding, suggesting that
graphical display elements have become integral to
modern digital literacy. As internet communication
continues to evolve, these elements are not merely
supplementary
features
but
rather
essential
components of effective online communication, thus
reflecting broader changes in how people express
themselves and interact in digital spaces. This
understanding is particularly relevant for educators,
communication specialists, and platform developers
who must consider the fundamental role of these
elements in facilitating clear and effective online
communication.
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