Rhetorical Analysis: The Digital Parent Trap

In the article “The Digital Parent Trap”, written in August 2013 by Eliana Dockterman, she explains the assets of technology for young students. Dockterman uses many strategies to persuade parents of the benefits of technology. The author uses ethos, writing structure, and statistics to persuade the audience.

To begin, the author uses ethos to persuade the audience. Ethos is the use of credible sources (expert opinions). “... Mimi Ito, an anthropologist at the University of California at Irvine, who’s studying how technology affects young adults.” Adding this piece of information make the author appear more credible and reliable to the audience. “...-as Jim Taylor, author of Raising Generation Tech, puts it, “They’re a load of crap… meant to make money.” When the author uses Mimi Ito and Jim Taylor’s opinions, it makes her argument more reliable. The author uses ethos to show the credibility of her writing.

In addition to ethos, the author also uses writing structure to convince her argument.

The structure of the writing consists of the beginning of the article, the author talks about the cons and problems with technology for young adults (“... Watching too much TV can lead to obesity, violence, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.”) to talking about how technology in the modern era is important (“If you look at applying for college or a job, that's on the computer.”). The purpose of the structure is to leave the audience with the most important information. For example, the author first talks about the con with technology, than over time she transitions to the importance and why kids should be exposed to technology at an early age. Therefore, the author is leaving the point of view she wants the audience to have when they finish the

article.

Lastly, the author uses statistics to convince the audience of the assets of technology on students. The stats make the information the author is telling more reliable clue to the fact that it's backed with facts and evidence. “... Only 10% of what they read, 20% of what they hear and 50% of what they see demonstrated.” This information makes the author's statement about how technology is important more reliable and makes it convincing.

In conclusion, ethos, writing structure, and statistics were used by the author to persuade her audience of the prosperity of technology on young adults and kids. These strategies made the audience more reliant on what the author said.