Speech Acts Analysis in Whatsapp Status Updates

This study elaborates the use of speech acts in computer-mediated communication, particularly in the whatsapp status message, to communicate in a mass medium. The study is a qualitative content analysis which applied a sample population covering a total number of 86 status messages posted by 23 participants taken in 4 consecutive days. The sample consisted of 13 male (56.52%) and 10 female (43.48%) from various social and educational background who ranged in age from 14 to 50 years old. The research findings point out the uniqueness of whatsapp status updates which has different result from the previous studies in terms of the frequency of speech act occurrences among participants from various social and educational backgrounds. Moreover, this provides a meaningful perspective in understanding human behavior regarding pragmatic functions and intentions of SNS users in Indonesia