Metadiscourse and the Gamification of Ride-hailing in the Platform Economy

The advent of the sharing, gig or platform economy, in particular the spread of ride-hailing firms such as Uber and Lyft, has given rise to new forms of digital communication. According to the drivers, the use of sign-up bonuses, ratings, promotions, competitions and non-monetary rewards is intended to provide incentives to work longer and longer hours while Uber and Lyft (the main rival to Uber in the US and Canada) progressively cut pay rates, with the online discourse intended to manage relations with the drivers primarily for the benefit of the platform. The result is what has been characterised as the “gamification” of ride-hailing, with the terminology of hiring, employment contracts and wages being displaced by the discourse of video game techniques, graphics and non-cash rewards. Research into metadiscourse has so far focused predominantly on academic discourse, whereas the present study, based on insights provided by Mauranen (1993), Hyland (2005, 2017), Ädel (2006) and Ädel and Mauranen (2010) is intended to examine the ride-hailing discourse in terms of the use of metadiscourse devices such as hedges, boosters, attitude markers, engagement markers and self-mention, casting light on their pragmatic functions. Although in methodological terms exchanges between the platform and the drivers constitute an occluded genre, not in the public domain, some insights into this discourse can be obtained indirectly from driver critiques of working conditions.