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Article published In: Pragmatics and Society
Vol. 7:3 (2016) ► pp.339–365

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Complimenting behaviour on Facebook

Responding to compliments in American English

 | Birkbeck, University of London
 | Birkbeck, University of London
 | Birkbeck, University of London
Published online: 15 September 2016
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https://doi.org/10.1075/ps.7.3.01pla
Compliment responses in face-to-face interaction have been extensively studied in different languages and cultures. Studies on complimenting behaviour in social-digital contexts are beginning to emerge (cf. Cirillo 2012; Placencia and Lower 2013; Maíz-Arévalo 2013). This paper aims to contribute to this emerging body of work by examining the responses to compliments made on Facebook (FB) by a group of women within an FB network in the US. While they received 1057 compliments, they produced only 205 responses. These results contrast with findings for face-to-face interactions, where non-response is exceptional, suggesting a strong influence of the medium on social norms. Regarding compliments which were responded to, acceptance predominated over rejection, in line with previous work within English-speaking communities (cf. Holmes 1986). Supplementary data from interviews with a group of American FB users revealed that their expectations are, overall, different from face-to-face interaction, with various factors influencing their compliment response behaviour.
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