MULTIMODAL DISCOURSE IN FACEBOOK COMMENTS: EMOJIS, MEMES, AND TEXT IN EDUCATION-RELATED INTERACTIONS

Abstract

In the digital age, educational discourse increasingly unfolds on social media platforms where multimodal communication blending text, emojis, memes, and gifs has become the norm. This study investigates how users on Pakistani educational Facebook pages engage in multimodal discourse, particularly within the comment sections of posts related to examinations, academic success, teacher recognition, and online learning. Drawing on the theoretical framework of Kress and van Leeuwen’s (2006) Multimodal Discourse Analysis (MDA), the research examines how three metafunctions representational, interactive, and compositional operate within user-generated content.

Using a qualitative research design, the study analyzes comment threads from five popular educational Facebook pages: Ulearn, EducationUSA Pakistan, Teach For Pakistan, and the Ministry of Federal Education. A purposive sampling strategy was employed to collect screenshots and archived comments over a three-month period. The data include diverse multimodal combinations of text, emojis, memes, gifs, and hyperlinks, which were interpreted using Kress and van Leeuwen’s metafunctional categories.

Findings reveal that emojis and memes are far more than decorative additions; they serve as strategic semiotic tools that enhance emotional expression, reinforce social alignment, and co-construct shared meanings. For example, emojis such as ????, ????, and ???? operate interactively to build solidarity and encouragement, while meme-based humor reflects shared anxieties around exams and policy changes. Compositionally, the sequencing and placement of emojis or memes guide the reader's emotional arc and interpretive pathway, aligning closely with the textual message. These multimodal patterns enable students and educators to negotiate identity, convey affect, and engage in performative acts of support and critique.

This study is significant in that it brings attention to the emotional, visual, and symbolic dynamics of online educational discourse in the Pakistani context a space often overlooked in traditional linguistic analyses. The implications extend to educators, digital literacy researchers, and policy communicators who seek to understand how multimodal practices shape engagement, build community, and mediate meaning in educational spaces online.

Ultimately, the research underscores that Facebook comments are not trivial or peripheral but are rich, meaning-making sites where discourse and identity intersect. Future studies may build on these findings by incorporating corpus analysis, sentiment tracking, or exploring cross-platform multimodal communication in educational contexts.