Relational Processes and Social Projections in Facebook Selfie-Quotation Juxtaposition: An Exploratory Study

Abstract

Abstract The juxtaposition between selfie and quotation is an emerging user-generated Facebook content. This exploratory study is the first to show how Facebook users self-represent themselves through Relational Processes, based on the intertextuality between these verbal and visual modes. Relational Processes refer to the process of characterizing, identifying or describing a person or entity. In this study, 132 Facebook quotations were categorized into three types of Relational Processes based on the users’ selfies. The clauses were restated into I-expressions to center the users’ multimodal experiential and egocentric positioning. The findings revealed that Attributive Relational Processes, such as “I am happy,” predominated in the self-quotation juxtaposition. These relational processes are then discussed based on the potential social projections within the Philippine cultural circuit, namely: the Filipino culture of “inggit” (envy); crab mentality; being social climbers; and the neoliberal and neocolonial status of the Philippines as channeled through the Western-driven quotations. Overall, we argue that the juxtaposition of these two semiotic modes can lead to the creation of a new persona of the Facebook users, enhancing their digital self-remodeling and self-representation.