Rhetorical Analysis of Project 3

The first blog post for project three will cover information about the different aspects of my rhetorical situation. The rhetorical situation is a combination of the context, audience, author, and the subject. I chose to make my argument about how bad social media is for our society.

1.     There are certainly a few aspects of myself that I will draw upon. For one, I have always been very interested in various psychological conditions. I don’t just mean psychopaths and serial killers, but also how emotion and levels of various chemicals in our brain affect mood. The thing that is so interesting about social media is that it can change all of this. One word of gossip and your amygdala is in full motion.

With that being said, I will also draw upon information from a class that I took here at the University: Psychology 150A1. This as perhaps one of the most interesting and mind-boggling classes I have ever been enrolled in. I will be pulling factual information from that class about the role that emotion plays in our life (and how that relates to social media).

I also love scientific advancements. But how can this be related to social media in any way? Well, technology is the gateway to social media. I will be taking a look at how companies, particularly Apple and Android, have made promoted social media with their products.

I also have interest in body image and how that is portrayed to the world. As you may be able to see, how you see yourself is largely influenced by social media.

Lastly, I will be drawing from personal experiences. I have a condition that (I believe) can be advanced through the use of social media. I will be referencing personal instances of this and how it relates to the controversy.

2.     There are actually quite a few preconceptions that I should certainly be aware of before I begin project 3. For one, I come from a cookie cutter family. I don’t just mean that I have a parents and one sister. I come from a German Roman Catholic Caucasian family with four blonde hair blue-eyed kids. My father is an engineer and my mother is an artist. Needless to say, I come from a strong set of family values. God first, then family, and then school. These values have most likely influenced my view towards things that inhibit my ability to interact with those three, such as social media.

I also come from a high-middle class family. With three of the four kids out of the house, my parents have some amount of disposable income. With that being said, I have relatively easy access to new technologies. This may also build up a bias towards social media (as I have had very easy access to it my entire life).

I was raised in houses that were surrounded by families with a similar wealth status. I was only cool if I had the new xbox or video game. It was also the “thing” to have the new Nike Shox or the new toy. Because of this, I become accustomed to technology (and thus social media) because it was a way to fit in with the crowd. I also moved around a lot so I needed to constantly be making new friends. What better way than with the Nintendo Wii?

Again, I was raised in a Roman Catholic family. God has always been number one in my family and you are shunned if He isn’t.

With all of that being said, my family’s strong values have certainly provided for personal bias about this subject.

            Audience

1.     My audience is going to be geared towards the younger generation, including anyone from the age of 5 to 30 years old. This won’t, however, be for everyone in this age range. The argument will apply mostly to the middle to high class individual. This is because these tend to be the people who have access to these social networking sites on a minute basis. This will include both women and men and will be restricted to just the United States (as our use of social media seems to be the most prevalent).

2.     Most of the audience members will have the assumption that social media actually increases their interactions with other people. They may reference an example of how often they talk to people through Snapchat, Twitter, and Facebook. They will be strong advocates towards social media as they believe that it connects them to the world. I will respond with a rebuttal that states the facts about how social media has actually decreased our face-to-face interactions and how this is disconnecting our society rather than connecting it.

3.     They will most likely show me all of their messages and claim that they would never be talking to their friend from back home if it weren’t for Facebook or Twitter. They may also claim that social media is a way for people to freely express their opinions on matters without being judged. They may claim that they don’t even like it that much, that social media just keeps them busy. That in itself is the problem.

4.     Because I will be addressing an audience that is around my age, I will be using more conversational language and syntax in order for them to clearly understand my point. I will also need to make sure I have the cold hard facts because young men and women can sometimes be stubborn about believing you if the facts aren’t right there. I will also need to make sure that my argument is concise. This is because the person’s attention to what I am saying decreases over time. They may become uninteresting in the argument if it is too long. For this reason, I must state my point directly.

5.     I couldn’t explicitly state the facts to them. For if I did, they would just say that social media hasn’t affected them in any way. I must relate to them in some way. I find the best way to do this is through examples. For instance, I can bring up the idea ADHD. I would first mention the symptoms of someone with the condition and then describe their habits. For instance, people with ADHD need to be constantly doing something or moving something. Aren’t you checking your phone every chance you get? Don’t you need Facebook to help ease your mind? I will need to apply a lot of ethos in order for them to listen to me. After that, I must give more and more examples until they can finally relate to what I am saying and then maybe, just maybe, agree with me.

Purpose

1.     I don’t necessarily need this to be an epiphany for anyone. I just want them to reconsider what they are doing. I want them to consider how their interactions with social media is affecting their interactions with people. I want them to consider the amount of time that they are spending on these media sights, and for what? Just to build up the amount of likes you get? I want them to reconsider what they believe is valuable. Do they measure their life based on the amount of hearts that your Instagram post got? I want them to reconsider what they value in life. Is it really more important to see the latest updates or to talk to your family around the dinner table? I want them to start listening and stop pressing. I want them to enjoy their life to its fullest extent.

2.     There are a few things that still need to be accomplished. For those arguing about this, they need to be fully aware of their reason for arguing. They also need to be aware of not only their own, but also other people’s biases on the issue. They need to be aware that what they’re arguing for means a lot more to the world than just the immediate effects. For that, people must consider all perspectives on this issue. The facts about the pros and cons have been analyzed, but they do not go much beyond this. We must consider also consider subjective views on this matter, as it can be very significant in constructing an argument for this topic.

There are still a few pieces of information that I need to gather. I need to round up all of the statistical information and combine that with person statements from people on the matter.

            Context

1.     I will be creating a QRG for this project.

2.     The people who are constantly on the interenet reading about varying views and opinions on things will be the main audience. QRGs are applicable to a broad range of audiences. Because they are so easy and quick to read, the young individuals who browse the internet will be the main audience of this genre.

3.     I have never worked with a QRG before.

4.     Although I have never worked with a QRG, I think I feel decently comfortable about how I should construct it. This is because I understand the conventions of a QRG, and I have already constructed some ideas as to how I can incorporate my topic into a QRG. Because I have never worked on a QRG, the construction of my rough draft is going to be a long process. But, I have confidence that I will learn quickly. For this reason, I am slightly nervous about the QRG, but at the same time excited to see its potential.

5.     One of the most effective conventions in a QRG is the use of media. Because my topic is about social media, I will be using a lot of images and recordings/video to help prove my point. The other effective convention in a QRG is the use of colloquial language and syntax. Because the bulk of my audience will be the younger generation, the use of conversational terms will allow me to get my point across more effectively (as we tend to like things that are short and to the point).

When

1.     There are a few historical events that may impact how my argument is perceived. For one, Obama was the first to integrate Twitter into his campaign during the election of 2008. In 2009, Twitter became an outlet for people after the election in Iran. Some people used this as a way to update the population on current violence taking place. One organization used Twitter to raise money after the earthquake in Haiti. People also used social media to raise money for ALS (the ice-bucket challenge). A murderer associated with drugs and weapons was caught by the NYPD in 2012, using Facebook as their gateway. This is known as the U.S. against Joshua Meregildo. These are the main historical events that my impact how my argument is perceived.

2.     Digital trends, Consumer Reports, Common sense, and PewResearch Center

3.     One of the main arguments I will have to respond to is that law enforcement can use social media to catch criminals. Another argument I must refute is that social media actually helps kids in school. A third argument is that social media actually increases face-to-face interactions. The fourth and final counter-argument is that social media serves as a news source.