PAWRENTS AND THEIR FURKIDS: HOW ONLINE COMMUNITIES ARE CONSTRUCTED DISCURSIVELY

Abstract

This thesis explores how online pet communities are established discursively, specifically focusing on two breed-specific pet groups on Facebook in the analysis. It aims to contribute to the study of online community construction by providing a linguistic analysis of the phenomena. The concept of heteroglossia – in particular, voicing and recontextualization – provided the theoretical backbone of the study, while the core definition of online communities was derived from the Communities of Practice theory. The data was analysed multimodally, incorporating the linguistic, visual and technological elements of semiosis. The analysis centres around three discursive phenomena that are prevalent within the Facebook groups: ventriloquising the pet, post sharing and participation in the #dollypartonchallenge, a viral social media challenge. Group members perform these discursive practices to express their affection and concern for their pets, thereby aligning themselves with shared community interests. Posts also provide a common site of engagement for interpersonal bonding among members. Findings also highlighted the importance of Facebook-specific engagement features that allow members to perform their stance work, further facilitating group bonding. Lastly, the study also featured the changing nature of contemporary pet ownership, as pets are often humanised in in-group interactions.