INDIVIDUATION AND NON-VERBAL LANGUAGE IN CMC

Abstract

This article analyzes the use of non-verbal cues —such as emoticons, typographical clues, among others— in computer-mediated communication (CMC). It intends to demonstrate how these cues reproduce kinesic and paralinguistic elements of the face-to-face communication which are essential in transmitting a message in an effective way —a key factor to the socialization and individuation— in order to overcome, even partially, the communicative barrier of the depersonalized written communication of the electronic media.