‘This app is evil forest true true’: metaphor-based metadiscursive evaluations of Twitter by Nigerians

Abstract

Abstract Previous linguistic studies on Nigeria-based Twitter discourse have investigated radicalist, terrorist, campaign, and electioneering discourses. These previous studies focus on discourses produced on Twitter, and not metadiscursive reflections about the social media space itself, and the discursive practice of dragging, in the context of celebrity–newcomer socialization, drawing theoretical insights from metaphoric conceptualizations. This article examines metaphor-based metadiscursive evaluations of the microblogging space by Nigerians. The data for the study comprise tweets retrieved from the Twitter account of a Nigerian celebrity new to Twitter, and subjected to metaphor scenario analysis. It was found that the metaphoric concepts of EVIL FOREST, STREET AS CULTURE/HIGHWAY, and DRAG/TIGER GENERATOR provide frames for characterizing, and evaluating Twitter, and the practice of dragging, respectively. Such user-based metadiscursive metaphoric reflections about the digital space, and culture grant access to the conceptual, and ideological structures that underscore participation in cyberspace. This article has implications for understanding the conceptual and ideological structures that underscore participation on Twitter NG, and the (dis)affiliative stance towards online bullying inherent in the practice of dragging.