Perry Patetic: The Mobile Society

People are constantly moving in our fast-paced society and the connections between people are constantly tested. Perry Patetic, in his excerpt, claims that the mobile society people now live in creates a lack of close relationships in the younger generations. The author supports his position by first appealing to the audience’s emotions by bringing their families into his argument. He continues by providing examples of real life to back his assertation. The author’s purpose is to persuade people so that they feel guilty for becoming distant from their loved ones. The author establishes sincere tone for younger age people who might be thinking about moving or getting away from those close to them.
Some might say that a mobile society is not a positive thing because it creates more isolation among family members and people aren't connecting to others around them as much. “People often lose track of old

friends and never see them again”(Patetic, pg. 1). When people move or start their real lives after school, they lose track of the people they were close to because they are so wrapped up in their new life with jobs and starting their own family. This is incorrect however because technology allows people to stay in touch even when they are far away. Some might say that military families are not close to people or each other. They always move around and do not establish connections to those around them because they will just move again. That claim is false because it brings the family closer together. They depend on the individuals in the family more than their neighbors and coworkers and therefore creates a stronger bond since it is always just their family. Technology allows people to stay in touch when far away from each other and a mobile society does not weaken the bonds between loved ones, but rather strengthens them.
The author’s argument that people nowadays lack close relationships because of a mobile society is wrong because the mobility allows people to grow closer to one another even when they grow physically apart. For example, my older sister moved to the border of our state on the opposite side of where we live several years ago. She has been there for almost ten years and yet no one in my family dislikes her; in fact it is quite the opposite. Her leaving has made us grow much closer because the distance makes the family miss them so when they return or visit it makes them glad and the occasion special. The distance of a relationship does not necessarily hinder how close the people can be. This can be related to another of the author’s claims that “a mobile society makes it too easy for us to move away from the people and places of our past”(Patetic, pg. 1). This is true however if it is easy to leave then it is easy to come back. One of my experiences with this is when my cousin left to go to college at Arizona State University. Everyone was so happy for him and we threw a party and he said goodbye to all his friends and family and left a few weeks later. After a year there he returned, he said he missed us too much and it was too cold. The point being that the mobile society people live in today isn’t separating families, it is bringing them closer together; it is making people realize that they depend on their loved ones more than they thought.
These days, people depend on their loved ones more than they think and the closeness of their relationship is not necessarily dependent upon their distance from one another.

Also, if someone leaves those close to them it is not the end of the relationship and does not necessarily diminish it; it can bring people together more by making them realize what they are missing, so that when they do come back, the relationship is as good if not better than before. Families can grow closer by not having to count on everyone around them, just those most important to them. This can happen especially when they are moving around often because they do not get as close to their coworkers and neighbors because they will soon move again. Therefore, their connection is strong with their family because they only confide in their family and that is all they need. The argument stated in the prompt that a mobile society creates a lack of close relationships is invalid because the mobility of a society does not separate people’s relationships but rather brings them closer

together.