Digital Conversation Analysis: The Case of Text-Messaging Introduction to the Special Issue

Abstract

This special issue contributes to an expanding body of work examining digital communication as a site where participants draw on both linguistic and technological resources to accomplish social actions. It brings together conversation analytic studies that examine how participants open, structure, and respond within text-based interactions across Mandarin Chinese and English messaging platforms. By focusing on naturally occurring data, these studies demonstrate how digital affordances, such as emojis, tapbacks, and quote-and-reply functions, mediate how participants open conversations, manage sequences, and achieve social actions. Together, these studies illuminate both the affordances of digital media and the enduring relevance of sequential analysis. This issue speaks to a growing recognition within CA that technologies do not merely transmit messages but fundamentally shape the organization of interaction.