Skip to main content
Article
Digital Sentiment: The “Social Expression” Industry and New Technologies
Journal of American and Comparative Cultures (2002)
  • Emily West, University of Massachusetts Amherst
Abstract

I argue that the differences between paper and electronic greetings are discussed in moral terms in both industry and consumer discourse, as if the technology itself has instrinsic moral meaning. The moral status of electronic greetings is still in doubt chiefly because of their disassociation from the bodily labor of consumption, their intangibility, and the perception that the Internet is a medium for playfulness. Further, electronic greetings appear to be placed in a hierarchy of communication modes in such a way as to serve as a marker of taste, so that the choice to use electronic vs. paper greetings may be implicated in processes of social distinction.

Keywords
  • Greeting Cards,
  • New Media,
  • Ritual Communication
Publication Date
2002
Citation Information
Emily West. "Digital Sentiment: The “Social Expression” Industry and New Technologies" Journal of American and Comparative Cultures Vol. 25 Iss. 3&4 (2002)
Available at: http://works.bepress.com/emily_west/10/