IDENTITY PATHOLOGISATION AND AMBIENT AFFILIATION ON X: A RELEVANCE-THEORETIC APPROACH

Social networks have become primary outlets for the dissemination of conflicting opinions on a variety of societal issues. The diverse discursive practices found within these platforms frequently give rise to linguistic aggression and conflict, which can lead to the factionalisation and polarisation of users and society. Among these practices are attacks on identity, specifically identity pathologisation. This may be defined as the representation of individuals or groups as irrational or afflicted by (psychological) disorders or moral vices. Moreover, identity pathologisation may amount to a digital social practice when it constitutes a discursive endeavour aimed at imposing harmful and degrading identities through indexical, positional, and relational dynamics. When enacted collectively, this practice may foster ambient affiliation, creating a sense of connection and community around shared values, feelings, and experiences. Drawing on relevance theory, this paper will account for how identity pathologisation facilitates ambient affiliation. It will argue that the ‘cascades’ of pathologising postings generated by multiple platform users often serve a phatic function. By making manifest assumptions that are already mutually manifest to other users, these interactions reinforce belief endorsement and the mutual attribution of shared attitudes across the network.