Tension as a Semiotic Concept of Communication Effects. Studies in Media Contents in the Theory and Application of Communication
Tension as a Semiotic Concept of Communication Effects. Studies in Media Contents in the Theory and Application of Communication

Summary/Abstract: This article presents tension as an interdisciplinary concept central to the effects of communication. The concept is grounded in rhetorical, semiotic, and media theory and interwoven with related ideas such as intention, the relationship between content and container, and extension. We argue that at the core of communication, both in theory and application, tension operates as an intrinsic dynamic between communicators, shaping meaning through interaction. In a review of the concept in recent research approaches and its fundamentals in the Platonic-Aristotelian philosophy we show that the approach of semiotics allows for theorization of tension, whereas the concept of tension is not only here but also in other contemporary areas of communication like rhetoric, discourse studies, and content analysis employed (sections I and II). The concept of tension is studied in three case studies of digital content and discussed for media of the contemporary world (section III). We present a model of tension in communication and describe how elements of tension reveal power dynamics in discursive communication and generate conflicting meanings that go beyond the basic semiotic structure (Section IV).

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