Politeness Strategies in Social Media Communication: A Systematic Literature Review Study

Abstract

The rapid growth of social media has transformed communication practices and intensified the importance of politeness in digital interaction. Although studies on politeness strategies have increased, existing findings remain fragmented across platforms, cultures, and research approaches, limiting a comprehensive understanding of the field. Therefore, this study aims to systematically review research on politeness strategies in social media communication by examining research trends, theoretical frameworks, methodological approaches, major findings, and research gaps. This study employed a qualitative systematic literature review (SLR) following the PRISMA guidelines. Data were collected from peer-reviewed journal articles published between 2021 and 2025 and analyzed using thematic analysis. The findings indicate that positive politeness is the most dominant strategy used to maintain interpersonal harmony, strengthen social solidarity, and support identity construction in online interactions. The review also highlights the growing relevance of impoliteness, cyber ethics, and multimodal communication, including emojis, memes, and visual cues as pragmatic resources. Furthermore, cultural background and platform characteristics significantly influence the use of politeness strategies. This study contributes to digital pragmatics by synthesizing recent evidence and providing insights for promoting respectful communication in social media environments.