Analysis Of Todd Partridge's Social Trust: A Touchy Subject

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"Social Trust: A Touchy Subject" by Todd Partridge, promotes the idea that physical contact, in a touch-free society, needs reinforcement. After an encounter on the bus, Partridge realizes how everyday people are hyper-aware of touch. This idea develops throughout his argument: people can, and must reconnect through physical contact. Partridge's purpose is clear throughout the piece. He uses an effective format by stating the claim first. Next, he strengthens his argument through sound evidence. By analyzing Partridge's claims and the evidence he uses, we can reach the same conclusion. To agree with Partridge is to provide hope in a disbanded American society.
In his opening example, Partridge gives us the details of a casual bus ride. He leaps onto the bus. A bump …show more content…

At the beginning, Partridge offers a statistic from Sidney Jourard’s study about conversation in different countries. “However, in America Jourard observed a mere 2 points of contact per hour” (Partridge 50). This statistic tells us that Americans exhibited minimal contact during conversation. Partridge takes this information and uses it to narrow his argument. Now, he focuses on American culture. Partridge narrows his argument further when he brings us this information, “…Caroline Johansson’s study in Current Psychology reveals that many don’t touch simply because they don’t know how, never having been taught by their parents” (Partridge 50). Partridge explains that this research puts touching into a result from early behavioral factors. Now, Partridge’s subject pertains to touch-phobic Americans, and this distaste for touch originated from behavioral tendencies. Partridge examines American’s behavioral tendencies and realizes that behavior is closely linked to environmental factors. When people surround themselves with social media, touch becomes less

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