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.

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