Semiotic Multimodality Communication in The Age of New Media

Abstract

The age of new media is changing the social order of communication. The availability of the widest access for internet users to communicate without time and region limitations is a feature of this digital media era. The second distinctive feature is the communication of digital media by using semiotic multimodality (a combination of verbal and nonverbal signs, for example, emojis, images, videos, sounds, and music). The purpose of this paper is to identify how cultures communicate with the New Media Age's semiotic multimodality. The approach used is semiotics, that is, an approach that views the media as a medium of exchange for signs of multimodality (complex verbal and nonverbal signs used in real-time). This paper concludes that the new media produce three models of communication between social media users, namely verbal and verbal language (sign) communication, verbal and nonverbal communication, and nonverbal-nonverbal communication. This study adds to the importance of internet users in communicating by utilizing the three models to remain critical in responding to various information received and disseminated. Because the use of semiotic multimodality that is compatible with communication models can cause problems in the meaning of the message conveyed.