Moral impoliteness

Abstract

This study is concerned with the increasing use of impolite language that one observes during interactions which take place over the Internet. Drawing on a number of Instagram posts uploaded by various socialites and public figures, this study proposes the notion of a ‘Basic Moral Perspective’ as being a window to an understanding of the nature of some impolite language witnessed on social media. I define ‘Basic Moral Perspective’ as the moral predisposition which interactants possess. As the study shows, in contexts in which there appears to be little relational history between interactants, the ‘Basic Moral Perspective’, amongst other factors, that interactants bring to an interaction can potentially result in impolite language. As will be shown throughout the study, the interactants’ Basic Moral Perspective can provide a clue as to how certain interactions are responded to.