Requests for Photos on KakaoTalk

Acknowledging the rise of multimodal mobile messenger chats, this paper investigates the practice of photo sharing, with a specific focus on requests for photos in KakaoTalk conversations. Positing that photo requestors display a stance that the referent has a visual quality that merits observation—i.e., that it is &quotphoto-worthy&quot—this study undertakes a conversation analytic exploration of how this stance is intertwined with the request. The findings reveal two main formal categories of requests: predominantly, direct demands for a photo that display little concern for its availability; and, more sparingly, indirect inquiries into whether a photo exists. Analysis of these categories in sequential context shows that requestors treat the request as warranted and, further, that the entitlement embedded in these requests is not to the photo per se, but to the validation of the photo-worthiness claim. Even when anticipating non-compliance, requestors convey that a photo would have been legitimately shown if available. Recipients may resist this implicit obligation to validate the stance, regardless of whether a photo is ultimately shared. Ultimately, photo requests exemplify a facet of the sharing of everyday life on contemporary conversational apps, illustrating how these interactions have been transformed through the incorporation of a visual dimension into a medium previously dominated by verbal interaction.