Theorizing temporality in multimodal communication: linearity and non-linearity in bullet comments

Abstract

The increasingly mediated conditions of online communication call for new theorizations of temporality. Informed by Harris' critique of the Saussurean principle of linearity, we build on Duncker's methodological innovations and reassert the importance of examining temporality from individuals' first-person perspectives in sign-making activities. By incorporating insights from recent studies on mediated time and the impact of digital technologies on temporal experiences, we seek to refine the integrationist notions of cotemporality and sequentiality. Our approach develops a more dynamic view structured around the dialectically paired metaphors of linearity and non-linearity drawn from Hutton's work. The strengths of this new view are illustrated through a case study of bullet comments, a multimodal writing function embedded in videos, whereby Chinese social media users engage in non-linear wordplay, unsettle the video's content, introduce new linear temporal structures and construct ritualistic semiotic events. We contend that this reconceptualized temporality proves essential for understanding users' creative practices and bonding experiences in the digital space. We also briefly discuss how this understanding of temporality aligns with social media users' general experiences in the current age of information overload and fragmented time.