ROMANCE IN THE DIGITAL AGE: LINGUISTIC FEATURES OF ROMANTIC POETRY ON SOCIAL MEDIA

Abstract

Romantic poetry has found a vibrant new home on social media platforms like Instagram and Twitter, where it thrives amidst the constraints and opportunities of the digital age. This study explores the linguistic features, thematic elements, and stylistic innovations that define modern romantic poetry on these platforms, shedding light on how traditional romantic themes are reimagined for contemporary audiences. Content analysis on 100 poems and audience analysis on 500 social media users reveal that through brevity, visual-aesthetic integration, and colloquial language, poetic expression centralizes on expressing itself in this digital era. Heartbreak and longing continue but are more situated within the use of modern topics such as technology and mental health. The presence of emojis, hashtags, and free verse forms gives the romantic poem an air of accessibility and emotional appeal. Patterns of audience engagement indicate that people like short, relatable, and visually appealing content, which underlines the participatory nature of social media. The findings here are able to show how romantic poetry has evolved with realities of digital communication but does not lose the depth of emotion or universality. Romantic poetry on social media not only democratizes artistic expression but also builds intimate contacts between poets and global audiences in terms of the way it bridges tradition and innovation. This paper contributes to the emergent discussion on digital literature, providing insight into transformations wrought by social media on creative and cultural production in the written word.