Approbation Maxim Violation in Hailey Bieber TikTok Comments: A Politeness Principle Analysis
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24256/ideas.v13i2.7780Keywords:
Approbation Maxim, Hailey Bieber, Politeness Principles, TikTokAbstract
This study analyzes violations of the Approbation Maxim in TikTok comments directed at Hailey Bieber using a qualitative descriptive method. The data source consists of user comments from publicly accessible TikTok videos featuring or discussing Hailey Bieber. The data collection was conducted through non-participant observation during Apri-May 2025, where researchers read, selected, and compiled 25 comments that potentially violated the Approbation Maxim, specifically those containing sarcasm, criticism, or negative evaluation. For the data analysis, the comments were examined using Leech's (1983) Politeness Principle, focusing on the Approbation Maxim, which encourages minimizing dispraise and maximizing praise. Each comment was categorized and interpreted to identify its type and the degree of impoliteness. The findings show that all 25 comments violated the Approbation Maxim, with sarcasm being the most frequent form (44%), followed by criticism (28%) and negative evaluation (28%). These results indicate that users on digital platforms like TikTok often disregard politeness norms when addressing public figures, instead using sarcastic, critical, and negative evaluation language in public discourse. This study is significant as it highlights how violations of politeness maxims contribute to the decline of digital politeness and provides pragmatic insights for fostering more respectful communication on social media.
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