Digital silence as a pragmatic strategy: A cross-cultural study of online group chats in crisis situations

https://doi.org/10.35912/jshe.v6i1.3188
Published: Jul 15, 2025

Abstract:

Purpose: This study investigates digital silence as a pragmatic strategy in online group chats during crisis situations, focusing on its cross-cultural functions and interpretations.

Research methodology: Using a qualitative discourse-pragmatic framework, data were collected from 30 online group chats across Arabic-speaking, Western, and East Asian groups, and analyzed for patterns of silence.

Results: Findings reveal that digital silence is universally used but culturally interpreted. In Arabic-speaking groups, silence often conveys politeness or emotional overwhelm; in Western contexts, it may suggest avoidance; and in East Asian cultures, it can indicate deference or restraint.

Conclusions: Digital silence operates as a strategic communicative act shaped by cultural expectations.

This study addressed three research questions. First, digital silence is used pragmatically in online group chats during crises to convey politeness, emotional regulation, resistance, and ambiguity. Second, it serves functions such as mourning, face-saving, strategic withdrawal, and deference. Third, these functions vary culturally: in Arabic-speaking contexts, silence often reflects solidarity and emotion; in Western groups, it can imply resistance or discomfort; and in East Asian settings, it demonstrates restraint and hierarchy.

Limitations: The research is limited to group chats during specific types of crises, and findings may not generalize to all online interactions.

Contribution: This study contributes to digital pragmatics and intercultural communication by illuminating the nuanced role of silence in crisis discourse.

Keywords:
1. Crisis Communication
2. Cross-cultural
3. Digital Silence
4. Group Chat
5. Pragmatics
Authors:
Ahmed Subhi Abdullah
Tikrit University, Iraq
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Abdullah, A. S. (2025). Digital silence as a pragmatic strategy: A cross-cultural study of online group chats in crisis situations. Journal of Social, Humanity, and Education, 6(1), 89–100. https://doi.org/10.35912/jshe.v6i1.3188
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Issue & Section
Vol. 6 No. 1 (2025): November
Articles
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References

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    Sifianou, M., & Tzanne, A. (2021). Face, facework and face-threatening acts. The Cambridge handbook of sociopragmatics, 249-271.

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    Wu, B., Afzaal, M., & Abdel Salam El-Dakhs, D. (2025). ‘Yet his silence said volumes’: a pragmatic analysis of conversational silence in rapport management. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 12(1), 2451490. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2025.2451490

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    Zhao, L., & Ran, Y. (2022). Rationalizing impoliteness: Taking offence and providing vicarious accounts in mother-in-law/daughter-in-law conflict mediation. Journal of Pragmatics, 197, 69-80. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2022.05.015

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  2. Birnholtz, J., Rawat, S., Vashista, R., Baruah, D., Dange, A., & Boyer, A.-M. (2020). Layers of marginality: An exploration of visibility, impressions, and cultural context on geospatial apps for men who have sex with men in Mumbai, India. Social Media+ Society, 6(2), 2056305120913995. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/2056305120913995
  3. Chen, H., & Atkin, D. (2021). Understanding third-person perception about Internet privacy risks. new media & society, 23(3), 419-437. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444820902103
  4. Corr, A. (2022). The grammar of the utterance: How to do things with Ibero-Romance (Vol. 78): Oxford University Press.
  5. Dal, A., Nisbet, E. C., & Kamenchuk, O. (2023). Signaling silence: Affective and cognitive responses to risks of online activism about corruption in an authoritarian context. new media & society, 25(3), 646-664. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/14614448221135861
  6. Fasth, J., Elliot, V., & Styhre, A. (2022). Crisis management as practice in small?and medium?sized enterprises during the first period of COVID?19. Journal of Contingencies and Crisis Management, 30(2), 161-170.
  7. Feghali, E. (1997). Arab cultural communication patterns. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 21(3), 345-378. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0147-1767(97)00005-9
  8. Gudykunst, W. B., & Nishida, T. (1986). Attributional confidence in low-and high-context cultures. Human communication research, 12(4), 525-549. doi:https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-2958.1986.tb00090.x
  9. Hakobyan, A. (2020). Digitalization of communication and the spiral of silence theory. Wisdom, 14 (1), 19–30.
  10. Hayati, D., & Sinha, S. (2024). Decoding Silence in Digital Cross-Cultural Communication: Overcoming Misunderstandings in Global Teams. Language, Technology, and Social Media, 2(2), 128-144. doi:https://doi.org/10.70211/ltsm.v2i2.60
  11. Herring, S. C., & Androutsopoulos, J. (2015). Computer?mediated discourse 2.0. The handbook of discourse analysis, 127-151. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/9781118584194.ch6
  12. Ibrahim, A. H., Sadkhan, R. M., & Khanfar, A. M. (2021). Silence in Arabic Cross-Cultural Interaction. JELITA, 2(1), 11-24.
  13. Jahanzeb, S., Fatima, T., & Malik, M. A. R. (2018). Supervisor ostracism and defensive silence: a differential needs approach. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 27(4), 430-440. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2018.1465411
  14. Jaworski, A. (1992). The power of silence: Social and pragmatic perspectives: Sage Publications.
  15. Kim, H. S., & Wang, J. (2024). Silence in the workplace: what do we know from research? European Journal of Training and Development, 48(10), 56-83. doi:https://doi.org/10.1108/EJTD-06-2024-0077
  16. Knoll, M., Götz, M., Adriasola, E., Al?Atwi, A. A., Arenas, A., Atitsogbe, K. A., . . . Bogilovi?, S. (2021). International differences in employee silence motives: Scale validation, prevalence, and relationships with culture characteristics across 33 countries. Journal of Organizational Behavior, 42(5), 619-648. doi:https://doi.org/10.1002/job.2512
  17. Lee, J. S., & Tatar, D. (2014). Sounds of silence: exploring contributions to conversations, non-responses and the impact of mediating technologies in triple space. Paper presented at the Proceedings of the 17th ACM conference on Computer supported cooperative work & social computing.
  18. Locher, M. A., & Graham, S. L. (2010). Interpersonal pragmatics (Vol. 6): Walter de Gruyter.
  19. Paoletti, P., Perasso, G., Lillo, C., Serantoni, G., Maculan, A., Vianello, F., & Di Giuseppe, T. (2023). Practice of silence to promote coping, emotion regulation, and future planning of imprisoned individuals during the COVID-19 pandemic: a qualitative study. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 62(7), 444-462. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/10509674.2023.2246449
  20. Parolin, L. L., & Pellegrinelli, C. (2022). Communication technologies and Aid practices: Superbergamo, group chats, and the COVID-19 pandemic. Frontiers in Communication, 7, 787202. doi:https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2022.787202
  21. Sagadat, T., & Kim, S. I. (2023). A Study on Comparing User Experience Design for Messenger Services Focused on WhatsApp and Telegram. J. Digit. Media Cult. Technol, 3(2), 143-154. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.70211/ltsm.v2i2.60
  22. Schweiger, E., & Tomiak, K. (2022). Researching silence: A methodological inquiry. Millennium, 50(3), 623-646. doi:https://doi.org/10.1177/03058298221083999
  23. Sifianou, M., & Tzanne, A. (2021). Face, facework and face-threatening acts. The Cambridge handbook of sociopragmatics, 249-271.
  24. Tan, E. Y., Wee, R. R., Ern, S. Y., Heng, K. J., Chin, J. W., Tong, E. M., & Liu, J. C. (2020). Tracking WhatsApp behaviours during a crisis: A longitudinal observation of messaging activities during the COVID-19 pandemic. medRxiv, 2020.2009. 2029.20203646. doi:https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.09.29.20203646
  25. Treem, J. W., Leonardi, P. M., & Van den Hooff, B. (2020). Computer-mediated communication in the age of communication visibility. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 25(1), 44-59. doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/jcmc/zmz024
  26. Utulu, A. U., & Bello, D. (2023). The Effect of Silence on the Human Communication System. ESI Preprints, 19, 171-171.
  27. Wu, B., Afzaal, M., & Abdel Salam El-Dakhs, D. (2025). ‘Yet his silence said volumes’: a pragmatic analysis of conversational silence in rapport management. Cogent Arts & Humanities, 12(1), 2451490. doi:https://doi.org/10.1080/23311983.2025.2451490
  28. YUSUF, H., & ISQIYARTA, J. (2019). Analisis praktik penghindaran pajak di bidang impor pada kepailitan perusahaan ekspor impor. Jurnal BPPK: Badan Pendidikan dan Pelatihan Keuangan, 12(1), 20-30.
  29. Zhao, L., & Ran, Y. (2022). Rationalizing impoliteness: Taking offence and providing vicarious accounts in mother-in-law/daughter-in-law conflict mediation. Journal of Pragmatics, 197, 69-80. doi:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2022.05.015