“Is Facebook Really Making Us Lonely?” In the article “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” by Stephen Marche, the author tries to show that Facebook impacts on society in the various ways. Moreover, the purpose of this article is to convince the readers that they should really connect to each other like face-to-face contact rather than spending time online the social media. Marche states that “Facebook doesn’t destroy friendships, but it doesn’t create them either” (Marche 608). The author’s audience would be middle-aged adults and middle class in May 2012 that buy and read about the social media because they might be up sad of their life. He also discusses that social network is making us lonely, or if lonely people are addicted to the Internet. However, he states social network is “merely a tool” (608), and we can choose how to use them. Marche sounds very cynical. He is an analyst, but his article is not clear enough. The author’s situation is so complicated because he uses too much examples and stories. Stephen Marche in “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?” is not effective in using pathos, connotative languages, tone and emotions to convince the reader that they should really connect to each other face-to-face rather than spending time online. The author uses the pathos by telling the really sad story. He uses the story of the old lady who lay dead in …show more content…
front of the computer for a year before anyone found her. He tries to make the reader feel sad and make them want to continue reading. Also, by using pathos, he shows to fan social media that “Facebook is interfering with our real friendships, distancing us from each other, making us feel lonelier, and spreading the isolation that it seemed to conquer” (602). This is may be trues, but the author does not mention that why the social media making us loneliness. Moreover, he fails because he uses too much different stories, and stories used may be insulting to the readers because he argumentative states is one sided. The author uses the connotative languages and tone. Using connotative languages, he informs the reader to know the effect of lonely. For instance, he uses a movie image of a lonely billionaire “an anomic Zuckerberg sending out a friend request to his ex-girlfriend” (602). He mentions this because he thinks it can get his reader attention. Also, he mentions “social interaction matters”. Using tone, he states that “Loneliness and being alone are not the same thing, but both are on the rise” (603). We decide to be alone, not because of social network. Although this statement may be true, it is a real situation in the America. However, the quality of the statement does not proof from the expert, and it makes the reader confuse. He also jumps over form the context. Lastly, Marche effectively catches up his audience’s emotions by mentioning something we are all afraid of, loneliness: “Now she was an icon of a new and different kind of horror: our growing fear of loneliness” (601).
He used this statement to grab the reader’s attention. By doing this, he gives his readers a warming, making them feel worried. This quote would work for the audience because it makes them wonder that when they use social media, are they really lonely? However, he fails because he cannot make the audiences to stop playing the social media. Furthermore, his argument doesn’t make sense and too much
word. In conclusion, by examining the argument from various strategies, such as using pathos, connotative languages, tone and emotions to persuade the reader, but finally he fails to persuade the audiences because Facebook doesn’t make us lonely. He fails to provide examples and references to convince readers. It is depending on us how we going to use its. Facebook is just a tool just help people who are shy with face-to-face conversation.
The audience can empathize easily with Sue and the death of her youngest and this allows the audience to understand the usefulness of Facebook “friends”; however, Dailey’s shift to present the other side of the argument with Bugeja’s forward truth of the flaws in online social networks. Bugeja convinces the reader that reality provides a more intimate level of support that the virtual world can never offer. Dailey could have ended the article on a stronger note that Facebook “friends” only serves as an additive to friendships to reality. In reference to Henry Adams infamous quote, Facebook “friends” cannot be made but built from existing
The essay by technology reporter for the New York Times, Jenna Wortham, titled, “It’s Not about You, Facebook. It’s about Us” discusses the idea that Facebook has helped shape emotions and now leaves its users emotionless. Although Wortham brings in several sources she does not support these sources with statistics and her personal feelings stand in the way of getting her main points across. In addition, she has a weak conclusion that leaves readers trying to grasp the actual message that Wortham is attempting to convey. Wortham fails to effectively support her thesis that society feels that it can not live without facebook.
In “Friends with Benefits: Do Facebook Fiends Provide The Same Support As Those in Real Life?”, Kate Dailey argues about whether the Facebook social scene could replace that of real life or it just mimics the likely course of friendship if people would still be close. The narrative begins with Dailey sharing an anecdote about a personal situation concerning a friend who just went through a hard time, the nonchalant friendship which the essay gravitates towards. While realizing the tragic news, her argument comes into place: is Facebook a great place to spread negative news or is it unable to beat the warmth in people’s physical reaction?.
In a day and age of a social media dominance, we have never been as densely connected and networked as we ever have. Through studies and researchers, it has been shown that we never have been as lonelier, or even narcissistic. As a result all this loneliness has not only made us mentally ill, but physically ill as well. Published in The Atlantic on April 2, 2012, Stephen Marche addresses this argument in his article entitled “Is Facebook Making Us Lonely”.
... audience, it made it more complex to have pathos effect all the audiences. To sum up, the author use of pathos did get the audience to be interested in the topic by giving them a solution to help yet, most would not like the topic of depressed doctor in need of aid.
However, as far as I am concerned, the above authors fail to mention the positive effects Facebook has on our lives. Facebook is also very useful. It enables us to keep in touch with friends and family all around the world. A modern journalist, Adam Piore in his article, “What Technology Can’t Change About Happiness,” also argues that “The overall effect of technology is to overcome the constraints of time and location that would have proven insurmountable before” (Piore 9). Piore’s purpose here is to tell people that technology can be a good thing as well. I also believe the same: with the video call function, we are able to see each other’s face and talk with ease. If some people are not familiar with video call, they can even voice message others, making communication easier while reducing the hassle of typing. No doubt, Facebook has greatly changed our lives with both positive and negative effects. And I also believe that it is when we find the balance between technology and relationships can we enhance our happiness level and relationship with people. That is, we need to go out and have face-to-face conversations with people while using technology to help us keep connection with
He makes sure to appeal to the audience by using logos when making arguments, and using pathos to connect with the audience and persuade them, to get his message through. However, he only talks about the negative aspects of technological advancement and social media. For example, he mentions the social media platform Facebook as a negative thing, where ‘liking’ goes “from a feeling to an assertion of consumer” (p. 2 l. 82). But Facebook is not only a narcissistic platform where we stage our lives for the outside world, but also a place to keep in touch with people you do not see often.
“The Facebook Sonnet” by Sherman Alexie brings up ideas and controversy over social media because it decreases face-to-face communication. Though Facebook allows people to contact old and new friends, it renders away from the traditional social interaction. Online, people are easily connected by one simple click. From liking one’s status to posting multiple pictures, Facebook demands so much attention that it’s easy for users to get attach. They get caught up in all the online aspect of their lives that they fail to appreciate real life relationships and experiences.
Various studies such as one survey which concluded that the mean size of networks of personal confidants decreased from 2.94 people in 1985 to 2.08 in 2004. Similarly, in 1985, only 10 percent of Americans said they had no one with whom to discuss important matters, and 15 percent said they had only one such good friend. By 2004, 25 percent had nobody to talk to, and 20 percent had only one confidant (Bercovici). In addition, a 2010 AARP survey found that 35 percent of adults older than 45 were chronically lonely, as opposed to 20 percent of a similar group only a decade earlier (Marche). By analyzing all of this compiled data it is evident that the sense of loneliness is on the rise especially after the launch of Facebook in 2004. Thus this has led critics to correlate the increased use and number of Facebook users with the noted increase in loneliness. This in turn has led critics to hypothesize and condemn the social network as the not so social network and therefore believing that Facebook causes loneliness. But is this all
The 21st century has brought a lot of modern ideas, innovations, and technology. One of these is social media. The invention of Facebook has completely changed the way we communicate with one another. Instant messaging, photo sharing, and joining online groups have created a way for families and friends to connect. Some argue that Facebook is the greatest invention however, while it is seemingly harmless, Facebook has created an invasion of privacy. The accessibility of Facebook and its widespread use has created privacy problems for users, teens, and interviewees by allowing easy control to viewers.
Social networking can connect strangers across the world. As the evolution of communication continues, technology progresses and social networking grows. Social networks like Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook have grown to have billions of users. In fact in today’s society, it is necessary or nearly expected to use one if not all of these technological communication networks. The increasing use of social networking has had both a negative and positive effect on communication in relationships. The purpose of this literary analysis is to answer if social networks are helpful or harmful to relationships.
Facebook can keep you up to date on what is going on around you and around the world. Facebook, along with other social networking sites replace the normal face to face conversations and changes the way we interact with others. One common question that has always been asked when concerning social networking is, “Does it have an affect on one 's psychological well being?” There have been many studies that show that there are both positive and negative effects of Facebook. “Internet causes people to cut off from social interactions by communicating via a socially impoverished medium. The more individuals use FB, the less satisfied they feel about life (Chan 276).” The first study in this article is where they show the relationship between Facebook and how much people use it and how it correlates with their psychological well being. The second study talks about the good and the bad when it comes to Facebook. The third study talks about the empathetic social skills and how it effect those who use Facebook. Then goes on to describe what empathy means, which means the ability to share and understand people and their feelings. And empathy is a good a basis for for good social skills. It is very common for people to portray themselves as someone they are not on Facebook to appear more appealing to their “friends”. They put up
Before technology, face to face communication was a normal everyday thing and loneliness was a problem that was rarely talked about or experienced. People went about their day without checking their phone every five minutes or so to see if anyone liked the status they posted or feeling lonely when nobody new liked it. In new studies more and more people have feelings of loneliness and depression. However, more people now use social medias such as Facebook, twitter and instagram. While it is true that technology mainly sites such as Facebook can lead to a person feeling alone, it is also true that it depends on how you use the technology, either to your advantage or as a depressant.
Marche, Stephen. “Is Facebook Making us Lonely? (Cover story)”: 8 (10727825) 309.4 (2012): 68. Academic Search Premier. Web. 24 Apr. 2014.
Facebook is beneficial to one's social life because they can continuously stay in contact with their friends and relatives, while others say that it can cause increased antisocial tendencies because people are not directly communicating with each other. But some argue that Facebook has affected the social life and activity of people in various ways. With its availability on many mobile devices, Facebook allows users to continuously stay in touch with friends, relatives and other acquaintances wherever they are in the world, as long as there is access to the Internet. Users can upload pictures, update statuses, play games, get news, add people, like and share photos, videos, memes