Tunisia in the Aftermath of the Revolution: Insights Into the Use of Humor on Facebook to Create Social Bonds and Develop Relational Identity

摘要

In this study, humor and the confused feelings of overwhelming happiness, fear, and uncertainty intertwine to reflect Tunisiansa?? attitudes, beliefs, feelings, and experiences in the aftermath of the revolution. The study adopts a blended netnography/ethnography approach to data collection and analysis. My original data consist of 2 hrs of recorded discussions of 60 Tunisian students and a total of 300 online humorous posts collected from the social network Facebook (FB). The data revealed that Tunisians interacting via FB used two main types of situational humor: Third party insult and Alternate reality. These two types of humor were found to be associated with a variety of psychological and social functions and to serve as effective interpersonal strategies to construct group cohesion, strengthen shared attitudes and beliefs, and develop relational identity.