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Article published In:
International Journal of Language and Culture
Vol. 9:2 (2022) ► pp.292–321

Emotional self-disclosure and stance-taking within affective narratives on YouTube

A qualitative case study of four Spanish YouTubers

ORCID logo | University of Turku

This case study explores how Spanish YouTubers construct affective narratives in terms of self-disclosure in the context of sensitive topics. In addition, it sheds light on how YouTubers take up a stance within the stories, and the components of this stance-taking. Stories and stance-taking will be evaluated through multimodal analysis, observing both the verbal and non-verbal cues used. According to the results, YouTubers’ affective narratives are characterized by emphasis on explicitly named feelings and by non-verbal cues that reinforce the transmission of mediated emotion, as well as functioning to boost self-disclosure. The narratives reveal a kind of stance-continuum that underlines the dynamic nature of phenomena, where YouTubers gradually construct, in conjunction with self-disclosure, the act of stance-taking, starting from self-oriented positioning, then moving toward a more instructive and self-to-others perspective, and finally acting as stance-influencers of the community in which they are involved.

Keywords: affective narratives, self-disclosure, stance-taking, multimodal analysis, YouTube
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Theoretical framework of narratives, self-disclosure, and stance-taking on YouTube
    • 2.1Features of online narratives
    • 2.2Online self-disclosure
    • 2.3Multimodal nature of emotion
    • 2.4About taking a stance
  • 3.Data and methodological aspects
    • 3.1Data
    • 3.2Methodological aspects
  • 4.Spanish YouTubers’ affective narratives with self-disclosure and stance-taking
    • 4.1The YouTuber as a stance-taker and emotional self-disclosure
    • 4.2Non-verbal cues as stance and self-disclosure intensifiers
  • 5.Spanish YouTubers’ stance-taking related to audience
    • 5.1Transition from a personal perspective to audience orientation
    • 5.2YouTubers as stance-leaders
    • 5.3Closing with eye contact with the audience
  • 6.Discussion and conclusions
  • References
Published online: 15 June 2023
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/ijolc.22050.pel
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