POPTXT: Popular Texting

During contact lectures on campus I noticed the ease and convenience with which student’s embraced texting  on their mobile phones  to communicate with peers, friends and family. I was fascinated at how written English which often posed a communicatory stumbling block for me in a formal academic sphere could be adapted to function so effectively within an informal social context. Not only was it effective, people seem to find immense pleasure in sending and receiving messages, be it from a friend living in another province or from a fellow student sitting in the adjoining lecture room. Considering that I text regularly, as do colleagues, friends and family, some admitted as often as much a 10 -20 times a day, I realised it is indeed a ‘popular’ activity, thus the name “POPTXT”. 

“POPTXT” has exciting possibilities as an exploration within the realm of visual art as it attempts to unpack a relatively new conceptually untapped, cultural phenomenon, rooted in human interaction. The aim of this study is to prove that the use of mobile  digital text messaging  started in the mid nineties in South Africa as a quick and cost effective short hand communication, but has in recent years evolved into a medium of creative expression and of social identity. The term ‘digital text messaging’ for the purposes of this study will include both SMS and IM formats as facilitated by most current versions of Smartphone’s® and Android™  brands. 


Research Strategy

This study will consist of three main parts: (1) Theoretical Research; (2) Technical Research and a (3) Practical Art Making Processes which will be informed by the first two parts. Each part will be explained in greater detail within this section, however it is important to note that all research streams will be channelled toward building a practical body of art work that will grow conceptually not only from the theory, discourses and sample analysis  of digital text messaging but from the very dynamics and social interaction the medium affords. 

The Theoretical Research will be subdivided into the following chapters: Historical Timeline (introduction, growth of mobile technology in SA); Discourse of Text Messaging (2008-current articles, statistics, views); The Mobile Phone as a medium (characteristics; Functionality; CMC); Visual Art Research (local and international artists/exhibitions focusing on texting/mobile phones as a medium or process) and Linguistics (English written and spoken, orthography and graphology). By extrapolating data applicable to my topic from these multidisciplinary fields, I intend to contextualise the infiltration and impact of mobile technology on the South African market.  I will also assemble evidence that since the introduction of mobile phones in the early 90’s as an object of luxury, status, security and practicality, 18yrs later it has become meshed into the fabric of our culture, fused into our daily routines and has altered the way we communicate forever. 

The Technical Research will focus on collating a corpus of text samples which will be analysed for typical characteristics of textisms . I first came across the word ‘textisms’ in an article by Beverly Plester, Clare Wood and Victoria Bell as a collective term given for various types of abbreviations that occur in text messaging, I would like to use this term in the same context within this document. I also use the term ‘typical’ as in the discourse and study of the nature and physical attributes of texting, many linguists  have recognised certain commonalities that occur in bodies of samples collected. The use of textisms has been placed into five categories  the first being: Rebus or letter/number homophones (C U L8R), the second being phonological reductions (nite; wot; wuz), the third is symbols (&@+), the forth is acronyms (WUUP2-what you up to?) and lastly the fifth is a casual register referred to by the aforementioned writers as “Youth Code” (wanna; gonna; hafta; me bro, dat) (Plester, B; Wood, C & Bell, V 2008: 141). For the purposes of this study, I have included a sixth category of graphic symbols as the use of mood indicators or emoticons  are relatively a new option offered to users with Smartphones®. 

A combination of quantitative and qualitative methods will be applied to the corpus sample. I intend to use social networks such as Face Book® and Twitter ® to acquire large groups of random participants, as well a small focus group, the only criteria being that participants must reside in South Africa. A web site and interactive questionnaire will set up for the collection of data pertaining to participants. Due to the personal nature of text messaging, issues of privacy and anonymity must be addressed for both sample groups, however the smaller group would possibly be acquaintances, friends and colleagues willing to divulge and discuss the finer nuances of their digital texting behaviour over a period of time. The reasoning behind using both qualitative and quantitative methods is to make available the opportunity to study large bodies of samples for the scope and data it could offer for this study and others relating to text communication within a South African context. The corpus could also serve as a comparative data source for studies conducted from other emerging countries. The qualitative aspect features in the smaller focus group of individuals; this may reveal more subtle cues of daily social interaction that could be insightful or lost with larger random groups. Knowing the participants personally whether from a work, family or socially will allow me to glean their texting mannerisms over a given period of time, and hopefully through mutual trust acquire an insider’s view to this form of social interaction.