“Inside jokes and the funny things”: Belongingness in College Students’ Rhetorical Uses of Venmo

Michael Pennell, Gianna Riley

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Within the growing use of peer-to-peer mobile payment apps, Venmo has proven most popular among the college-aged population in the United States. “Venmo me” is a common phrase overheard among students on college campuses. Spurred by an exchange in a course focused on social media, we investigate the uses of Venmo among students on our campus. Through interviews, we examine students’ relationships to not only the transactional but also the rhetorical aspects of Venmo, especially the social feed (unique among peer-to-peer mobile payment apps). We reflect on three recurring themes in these interviews using the concept of public displays of belongingness: insider versus outsider, requesting payment, and digital intimacy.

Original languageEnglish
Article number102845
JournalComputers and Composition
Volume72
DOIs
StatePublished - Jun 2024

Bibliographical note

Publisher Copyright:
© 2024 Elsevier Inc.

Keywords

  • Belongingness
  • Mobile payment
  • Networks
  • Public
  • Social media
  • Venmo

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Computer Science
  • Language and Linguistics
  • Education
  • Linguistics and Language

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