Rhetorical Analysis Of The Flight From Conversation

Rhetorical Analysis

Professor of the Social Media of Science and Technology at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and author Sherry Turkle, in her essay, “The Flight from Conversation,” published in the New York Times on April 22, 2012, addresses the topic of communication in the digital world. She argues that technology is hindering communication between individuals and disrupting personal relationships. The author uses a variety of rhetorical appeals to strengthen and support her compelling argument. Through her use of ethos, pathos, and logos, the author hopes to make us aware of the impact technology has in our world in order to demonstrate how we, as a society, must not sacrifice communication for connection.

The author establishes her credibility not solely from her academic achievements and reputable background, but by incorporating numerous examples of how the behavior and lives of countless people have changed in our rapidly expanding technological society. However, before she brings up these examples, she opens up her argument by stating the significance of technology in our society in a broad sense and then begins to slowly transition into mentioning her qualifications to write on this controversial topic. Turkle speaks of her experience in the researching industry and the results she has accumulated on this topic. “Over the past 15 years, I’ve studied technologies of mobile connection and talked to hundreds of people of all ages and circumstances about their plugged-in lives” (Turkle). By opening up her essay this way, Turkle provides a sense of trustworthiness and personal connection with the audience in a way that will make the readers well informed of her background and knowledge on the topic. This makes the author more respectable and reputable aside from her achievements. She furthers her ethos by providing examples of groups of people in settings where human relationships are diminishing. This is evident in her writing in which she tells her readers what a senior partner at a Boston Law firm witnessed in his office. “Young associates lay out their suite of technologies: laptops, Ipods, and multiple phones. And then they put their earphones on...With the young lawyers in their cockpits, the office is quiet” (Turkle). By the author incorporating this description of an office room, she is effectively presenting a sorrowful image in the minds of the readers and presents the reality of what our society is becoming. Her ethos is further strengthened when she speaks of her presence in the robot experiment with the elderly lady. She organized her own little experiment and witnessed firsthand the effects the baby seal robot had on the lady. This exemplifies the dedication and passion to her research and verifies her credibility.
To further strengthen her argument, the author effectively incorporates pathos into her writing by illustrating several sad examples of when people have become too reliant on machines rather than human beings.

This is demonstrated through one of the authors personal experiences where she brought a robotic baby seal to an elder-care facility to comfort an elderly lady. The woman was going through an emotional time in her life and “began to talk to the [robot] about the loss of her child” (Turkle). Turkle describes this experience as “one of the most haunting experiences during my research” (Turkle). The author portrays this scenario to show how nowadays, people are relying on machines for companionship instead of humans. This incident is very shocking and depressing to the readers and makes them reflect on their own relationships with technology. Also, to strengthen her emotional connection with her readers, she adds humor to her argument for the purpose of putting her readers at ease while still exposing the harsh reality of what children are going through. She speaks of an adolescent teen who seems socially inept and “relies on texting for almost everything” (Turkle). The author mentions how the boy is wishing he could have an actual conversation one day.While this may seem humorous, it gives the audience a sense of hopelessness and inevitability of what is happening to our once vibrant and lively

society.
Throughout the essay, Turkle provides powerful evidence of logical appeal by providing reason and thought. She repeatedly encourages her readers to put down their devices in order to interact more with their surroundings. A prime example of this is shown when she speaks of how a businessman no longer has any colleagues at work because they are all “too busy on their email” (Turkle). This example is very relevant in our society as both adults and children are abusing the use of technology and not forming relationships by speaking to one another. Another interesting remark the author brings up to support her claim is the idea that people are desperate for attention and feel the need to be acknowledged through social media. The constant usage of social networking “provides so many automatic listeners” and helps those who feel lonely and desolate. This is a problem in our society. This quick and automatic access provides the illusion for people that they never have to be alone and will always be heard. This is unatural as individuals must learn to cope with their loniless without the click of a button. Lastly, the author uses strong evidence of logical appeal when she speaks about how face-to-face conversation “teaches patience” (Turkle). Turkle describes how constant communication through texting and email have encouraged bad habits. She mentions how people always expect fast responses and that the thoughts and creativity of communication are becoming more simplified.
Without a doubt, technology has changed the way we communicate with one another. It has provided people with ways to isolate themselves and to feed a false satisfaction with their social and emotional needs. The author presents a very persuasive piece of writing by excessively expressing the rhetorical devices of ethos, pathos, and logos. The incorporation of all these devices create a meaningful argument and the author does an excellent job convincing the readers to reflect on their own relationships with their technological devices. Turkle hopes that we will not be blinded by mass media and that our society will not value technology over our relationships with family and freinds.