Writing Aloud: The Sound of Voice on Page and Social Screen

Abstract

We search for the voice as captured in informal correspondence; we contrast the ‘voice’ of Keats as poet and personal correspondent. In today’s world of social media, instant communication enables ‘voices’, either real or constructed, to reflect online personalities that may generate friendship across space, or fuel distrust and even hatred. The spontaneous nature of instant communication can turn debate into bullying, and the use of emojis, gifs and other devices are moving us towards a new means of expression, where implied sound through symbols shouts through our media; a raised voice may be denoted by capital letters, a disagreement demonstrated by an exclamation mark. The subversion of technology to evolve new equivalents to language does not diminish the presence or power of the virtual voice.