ql-align-justify">One important site of multimodal communication in my life, and particularly in my students’ lives, is social media—especially platforms such as TikTok and Instagram. These platforms function as everyday literacy spaces where meaning is created through the interaction of multiple modes, including written text, images, videos, sound, movement, emojis, hashtags, and visual design. Rather than relying solely on words, students communicate ideas, emotions, and identities through carefully curated combinations of these modes.

A multimodal analysis of meaning is useful because it allows educators to understand how messages are constructed beyond written language. For instance, advocacy content on TikTok often combines background music to establish emotional tone, facial expressions and gestures to convey authenticity, captions to clarify intent, and hashtags to situate the message within a wider social conversation. Creators such as Imani Barbarin, a disability rights advocate, use humor, visuals, and spoken language together to challenge stereotypes and educate audiences. Similarly, LGBTQ+ advocates like Rose Montoya use storytelling, visuals, and platform-specific features to communicate identity and inclusion. Analyzing these texts multimodally helps reveal how power, identity, and perspective are communicated across modes rather than through text alone.

This approach contrasts with traditional notions of literacy, which often emphasize reading and writing printed, linear texts. While these skills remain important, they no longer fully represent how communication operates in contemporary society. Traditional literacy tends to privilege written language, whereas multimodal literacy recognizes that meaning is socially constructed and distributed across modes. Students today are already fluent in interpreting images, videos, sound, and digital layouts, even if these skills are not always acknowledged in formal education.

By incorporating multimodal analysis into teaching, educators can bridge the gap between classroom literacy and students’ real-world communication practices. This not only validates students’ lived experiences but also develops critical literacy skills, enabling them to analyze how messages are designed and how they influence audiences. Ultimately, recognizing social media as a legitimate site of multimodal communication expands our understanding of literacy and supports more inclusive and relevant educational practices.

References:

•Kress, G. (2010). Multimodality: A social semiotic approach to contemporary communication. Routledge.

https://www.routledge.com/Multimodality-A-Social-Semiotic-Approach-to-Contemporary-Communication/Kress/p/book/9780415320610

•New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review, 66(1), 60–92.

https://newlearningonline.com/literacies/chapter-1/the-new-london-group

•Barbarin, I. [@crutches_and_spice]. (n.d.). Instagram profile. Instagram.

https://www.instagram.com/crutches_and_spice/

•Montoya, R. [@rosemontoya]. (n.d.). TikTok profile. TikTok.

https://www.tiktok.com/@rosemontoya

Social Media as a Multimodal Literacy Space in Students’ Lives