Why Did Star Wars Cause ADHD?

“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, there was no Facebook or Twitter, no emailing or texting. Personal computers had yet to invade our homes, and most of us had access to maybe four or five TV channels, max. That far away galaxy was the 1970s — and it was also a time when ADHD was virtually unheard of.” In Michael Obershneider’s article, “Did Star Wars Cause ADHD (Okay maybe not directly, but consider this…),” He proposes that Star Wars and the rapid development of technology is responsible for the dramatic increase of ADHD in today’s era. Obershneiders use of ethos, logos, and pathos is skillful, however, it is his ability to craft emotion-invoking words and phrases which really sells his argument.

The first paragraph in the article

In the first sentence of the second paragraph, he provides us with a statistic, however he does not give us a precise number, just a vague “around 1 percent” and “very rare,” he leaves it to our imagination to tell us exactly how non-existent ADHD was back in the 1970s. Following that vague statistic comes a more precise one, Obershneider, sourcing the CDC, says that 11 percent of children between the ages of 4 and 17 have diagnosed positive for ADHD and that 60 percent of those diagnosed keep it into adulthood. In the first sentence of the third paragraph, Obershneider lists multiple factors which could have been a link between technology and ADHD growth. He also states that “in my opinion, “Star Wars” is an inescapable data point.” By giving us statistics between the number of those diagnosed with ADHD then compared to now, he makes the reader use reason to come to the logical conclusion that there is definitely something that is affecting ADHD diagnosis, while he also supplies his own thoughts as to what it is.

The fourth paragraph of this article displays a descriptive choice of words to describe the film Star Wars, most likely to meant to evoke emotion. Obershneider uses intense words such as “memorable characters,” “sweeping saga,” “blazing special effects,” “massive success,” “enduring impact,” “revolutionary quality,” and “groundbreaking editing.”

Using data and testimony by Dimitri Christakis, Obershneider is suggesting that, in addition to using his own observations, as well as statistics by the CDC, he also managed to get an expert’s point of view on the subject, thus giving his argument even more