¶ … Farhad Manjoo describes all the positive reasons for having a profile on the social network, Facebook. Manjoo's argument is that Facebook, despite any potential deficits is a valuable tool and uses his essay to convince those not already using Facebook that the website will be good for them. He utilizes all the persuasive literary devices (logos, ethos, and pathos) to convince the reader that the potential negatives about Facebook are far outnumbered by the potential benefits.
Logos, by definition, is the word choices an author makes in order to help prove his or her point. Manjoo makes subtle jabs at those not on Facebook. He does so partially by making this group know that they are fast becoming the minority. Secondly, he compares these standouts with false stories quoted in the satirical and fictional newspaper, The Onion. "I'm not an elitist. It's just that I'd rather sculpt or write in my journal or read Proust than sit there passively staring at some phosphorescent screen." Obviously, someone who sculpts and reads Marcel Proust for fun, not to mention someone who describes a computer screen as phosphorescent, is most assuredly an elitist. The purpose of this type of writing is to ensure that those reading the essay, who do not wish to think of themselves as elitist or above the group, will then log on to Facebook.
Ethos is the ability, through writing, to...
He begins the paper with statistical information and quotes from Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg. For example, Manjoo has defined how many people are logged on to Facebook. "It was just last August that Facebook hit 100 million users. Since then, an average of 374,000 people have signed up every day." This information is used to not only inform the reader, but also to subtly intimidate the reader. Then, Manjoo dramatically changes the tone of voice he uses in writing. Manjoo makes the point that any new information or new technology is always met with a feeling of nervousness and terror. However, time will ease this fear. Everyone becomes accustomed to new technologies as time passes. "As more people got phones, they became more useful for everyone -- and then one day enough people had cell phones that everyone began to assume that you did, too… From that moment on, it became an affectation not to carry a mobile phone; they'd grown so deeply entwined with modern life that the only reason to be without one was to make a statement by abstaining." After putting on his metaphorical knowledge hat, he instead takes a tone of friendship, even going so far as to ask his readership for permission to call them his friends. Finally, Manjoo systematically removes all the potential arguments a person would have for staying away from Facebook. Among these is a woman…
