Who Are We in the World of GIFs? - Mapping GIF Users

Abstract

In online communication, the effective transmission of emotions, reactions, and states is becoming increasingly important, and creative solutions such as emojis, GIFs, and memes, which are capable of reflecting an individual's feelings, reactions, or even digital identity. Since their return, reaction GIFs have become increasingly popular as a means of expressing nonverbal cues in the online space. These animated reaction GIFs are not only capable of expressing a single emotion or set of gestures, but often carry pop culture references, knowledge from meme culture, or even inside jokes, making them multifaceted and adding color to online communication. The use and interpretation of GIFs can be considered a complex process that involves different skills, motivations, background knowledge, or even literacy, and based on these, similar to previous media such as television or even radio, we can identify different user groups for GIFs.

The present research is based on the study by Church, King et al. “Relating, searching, and referencing: Assessing the appeal of using GIFs to Communicate”, which identifies three main categories of GIF users: enthusiasts, searchers, and referentialists. These general categories help us understand the purposes and motivations behind people's use of GIFs in online communication. The purpose of the research is to examine GIF users among Generation Z university students. More specifically, it examines the frequency with which these “pure” categories appear, the possible transitions between them, and whether there are any additional categories beyond those mentioned. The methodology is based on a survey questionnaire, the main purpose of which is to collect structured data on views and attitudes related to GIFs, using the categorizations and statements of the underlying research study.