MULTIMODAL IRONY AND DIGITAL EXPRESSION IRONY IN SOCIAL MEDIA IS INHERENTLY MULTIMODAL

Abstract

This article explores the use of irony in social media communication, focusing on how users employ hashtags, multimodal elements, and contextual cues to convey implicit meanings. It aims to explain how irony functions in digital discourse and how it affects interpretation across cultures. The study adopts a qualitative discourse analysis approach, drawing on examples from platforms such as Twitter, Instagram, and TikTok. The analysis is grounded in pragmatics and sociolinguistics, particularly theories of implicature, context, and digital communication.