Burdette 1

Hunter Burdette
Professor K. Jennings
ENG 111-13
6 November 2014

Introduction to rhetorical analysis

In Is Facebook Making us Lonely, Stephen Marche responds to the issue of growing

social isolation. (Marche1) He was inspired to write this paper by an article he read involving a
former model who died alone and was not found until months later. This convinced him that
social media, such as Facebook, is having a negative effect on our society. (Marche1) He
combined use of descriptive language with facts and statistics to convince social media users to
focus more upon their real friends. His use of both emotional and logical material formed a
very compelling argument.

One of the most compelling aspects of Marches argument is his use of emotion building
details. At the beginning of his paper, he begins to tell about the article that made him aware of
the effects that social media is having on society. The article tells the story of a former model
that had fallen into exile after the downfall of her career. Marche conveys the dramatically tragic
details of her life after this decline. This manages to instill a sense of dread in the reader. This
emotional aspect is furthered by his reference to the final scene of a film known as The Social
Network, in which a dying man frantically sends his ex-girlfriend multiple friend request(s)

Burdette 2

without receiving a response. (Marche1) The emotional weight of the fear of dying alone grants
Marches argument a great deal of momentum.

Another crucial factor in Marches argument is his use of logical information to support
his claim. In the article, he states that In 1950, less than 10 percent of American households
contained only one person. and that By 2010, nearly 27 percent of households had just one
person.(Marche1) The release of this data will help to convince readers of the growing
seriousness of the issue. Furthermore, Marche brilliantly combines the use of logical and
emotional persuasion by shifting the readers focus to the profits being made from this
loneliness. He writes that Facebook had 845 million users and $3.7 billion in revenue last
year., and that the companys potential value (is) $100 billion. (Marche) This information will
both show the reader the grand scale of this issue, and create resentment towards Facebook for
profiting from peoples loneliness. This significantly strengthens his argument.

Although Marche presents a solid argument, it does have some weaknesses. One major
mistake he made was making his paper so long. His intended audiences, social media users, are
used to short articles and messages. The length of this paper may dissuade people from
attempting to read it. He also fails to list sources for his information. This may lead people to
question the integrity of his argument.

Stephen Marches use of statistics and emotional imagery is very effective. He connects
with readers and persuades them to consider his point of view. In spite of some weaknesses, this
paper still manages to convince readers of the truth. All in all, this is a very effective argument.