Jeremy Charles

2/7/2017

Mr. Graham

Composition II Rhetorical Analysis

Stephen Marche wrote an interesting article called Is Facebook making us

lonely? The article has a negative view on the Internet and Facebook is Stephens main

focus while writing this. Stephen ties Facebook in with his overall main idea. However,

the article doesnt just focus on Facebook; the article mentions other recognizable social

networks too. The article itself has a strong attention getter with its beginning

paragraph, it has quotes and studies done by credible sources, and it has a claim that a

great majority of people could agree with. The best part of the article is its description of

the link between loneliness and Facebook.

Stephen starts out by telling a story. A narrative is a great way to get the attention

of the audience. The story consists of the death of a famous playboy playmate named

Yvette Vickers. Apparently, she had died in her house, but the interesting thing was that

it took one year before anyone checked her house for her. What is uneasy about the

narrative is how the computer is portrayed in the story. Stephen made it seem that the

computer killed Vickers, but it was old age that did it. What Stephen was trying to get at

was the isolation that she placed on herself with the social network friendly lifestyle she

had near the end of her life. This story is a great way to steal the attention of an

audience.

Stephens claim could be simply described as that social networks are hurting

lots of people who use it. The ground is that social networks, like Facebook, Twitter,

Google Plus, etc., are linked to loneliness, isolation, and misery. Certain audiences can

grasp the idea that social networks are a problem for this generation and has been

affecting the previous generation; however, some might need convincing about a link
between the networks and loneliness. Stephen gave studies on increase of loneliness,

one was done by AARP, however there wasnt a study that proved Facebook or other

networks directly caused loneliness. Stephen did state a study done by a Moira Burke

that proved lonely people are attracted to places like Facebook and those people

become more lonely and miserable. This evidence does show a link to loneliness and

social networks, but it doesnt prove that they cause it. It seems that this claim lacks a

warrant. Most of the article contains quotes from theorists, people who have experience

with the Internet, and studies from people or groups who are looking into loneliness and

isolation in our society. A rebuttal to this is the common answer that social networks

make it easy for people to connect with one another if they want. Stephens reaction to

this rebuttal feels indirect. While it would be easy to connect to everyone, all the studies

that Stephen stated have proved that the ability to connect causes loneliness. Stephen

stated in his article that seeing others happy makes sadness. All of this shoots down the

rebuttal. There arent any qualifiers in the text and Stephen has a good argument. His

claim is the strongest part of the argument because of how easy it is for many people to

accept.

It is possible that Stephen might have a differently claim. This claim could be that

we hurt ourselves and we make ourselves lonely. The grounds is that we look upon

loneliness, isolation, and solidarity with admiration and respect. Stephen backs this up

by using the past of America as an example. Stephen goes to a good length at talking

about the pilgrims, Salem witch trials, the mid-western cowboys, and other icons

involving isolation. The pilgrims are described as being solidarity seekers for their

religious freedom. The cowboy is an icon that many Americans find recognizable and is
praised for his solidarity. Stephen also talks and songs and literature that praises

isolation, such as Moby-Dick and Self-Reliance. This could be an eye opener to a lot

of Americans. When they realize that these well known aspects are about celebrating

isolation and solidarity, it would draw more of peoples attention, which makes this the

strongest part of the argument. The warrant is not clear, but it is possible that the

warrant is that to stop the respecting of isolation and solidarity might help our problem

with loneliness. The backing would come from backing of the grounds and all of studies

his listed that talked about loneliness. The Rebuttal would be that the figures, who are

isolation driven, that are popular in our society are so drilled in that it would be hard to

move away from it. This rebuttal is true however, Stephen does not address it in the

article. There arent any qualifiers in the article that needs to be addressed. This

argument is strong, but its weakness is that its too late to stop admiring solidarity

figures.

Stephen Marches article is interesting piece that shedded some light on a

concept that might not have been known by many. His article showed a connection that

involved loneliness and Facebook. He also a generous amount of studies and words

from credible sources to back up this link. He also brought to attention how Americas

culture idolizes certain people and literature for being about isolation and solidarity. The

narrative about the death of the playboy playmate definitely would grab the attention of

a reader. Overall the article did well for its goal.