LUCK CHAIN LETTERS AS ONE OF THE VARIETIES OF ELECTRONIC CORRESPONDENCE

Abstract

The aim of the article is to investigate and analyze luck chain letters as one of the types of electronic communication. It describes Internet communication and its main features. The article provides a definition of the term «luck chain letters» (letter of happiness, magic letter, chain letter of happiness) and examines its characteristics, methods of dissemination, and provides examples. The research focuses on letters collected from the Viber messenger. The most common types of these letters are identified, such as «pray and forward the prayer to N number of friends», «we need to gather a million votes to prevent Viber or Facebook from becoming paid», «puppies from a breeding facility need owners (or funds), otherwise they will be put down», «parents of a sick child will receive 10 cents for every letter you send», «the result of a test that you took, which stated that if you don’t forward the invitation to this test to a certain number of people, you will experience failure for several years», «аmiraculous remedy from the market that guarantees a cure for the most common ailment», «in honor of their birthday/opening, a gift from a well-known brand/company». The following manipulative tactics are identified in these letters: «If you love, then...», «Exploiting parental instinct», «Don’t be an outcast», and activating a situation of psychosis with a «lack of time» indicator. Equally important is the example of appealing to «good feelings» to foster intimacy in the communicative space between the sender and recipient. In the future, there are plans to further examine happiness letters (in messengers, social networks, email, blogs), classify them, identify common features, and highlight the most prevalent manipulative tactics. This may involve analyzing the communication strategies used in such letters and studying their impact on recipients, particularly in terms of perception, reactions, and dissemination methods. Analyzing happiness letters will contribute to a better understanding of manipulations and provide protection against harmful content that may be present in such letters.