Uses and Affordances of Narrative Form on Social Media Platforms

Hanna-Riikka Roine, Associate Professor in Digital Culture:

Understanding narrative from an instrumental perspective has increasingly enabled researchers to study the ways in which it is used as well as the contexts where such uses take place. At the same time, the role of social media platforms has been recognised as essential in today’s story economy.

In my talk, I will discuss the ways in which the affordances of the narrative form intertwine with those of social media platforms as contexts of use. I will first outline an affordance concept that closes the gap between the constraints and possibilities of narrative form and its uses in specific environments. I will then suggest that on social media platforms, narrative must be approached both as a form of content and a form of agency.

By building on previous theories on narrative in digital environments, my talk draws out the interplay between these two forms and argues that this way we can better understand ‘the point’ of using narrative in divergent ways on the platforms. The discussion is illustrated with the example of Kristen Roupenian’s ‘Cat Person’, a short story published on The New Yorker website in 2017.

Q&A after the lecture.