Social Sites Are Becoming Too Much of a Good Thing Essay

Introduction

The article under discussion dwells upon popularity of social networking. The author claims that social networking is decreasing as people are losing their interest in online communities. Lee uses a term for the decreased popularity. She notes that many people are experiencing “social networking fatigue” (Lee 152). It is necessary to note that the author’s argument is plausible and well-grounded as Lee uses all three means of persuasion, i.e. ethos, pathos, logos.

Logos

Lee resorts to a variety of logos in her article. The author provides extensive data to support her argument. For instance, the author provides specific data which show the ongoing decrease, “MySpace’s audience dropped from 49.2 million to 47.2 million; Facebook from 8.9 million to 7.8 million” (Lee 152).

Lee also suggests a number of reasons for the drop. She states that increasing amount of advertisement in social networks discourages people from joining online communities or spending much time in social networks. Lee provides certain data which show that big companies invest money in this type of advertisement and acquire social networks making them highly commercial, “MySpace . was acquired by News Corp. last year for $580 million, and Facebook, born out of a Harvard dorm room, followed” (153).

Noteworthy, the author provides certain factual support to an opposing opinion stating that there is “enormous expansion” at the rate of 320 thousand newly added profiles each day (Lee 155). However, this does not undermine plausibility of the author’s argument, but shows that the author has implemented an insightful research. Thus, it is possible to note that Lee makes use of logos, which enhances credibility of her argument.

Ethos

Apart from logos, the article contains ethos. Lee refers to different experts’ opinions. When considering popularity of social networks, Lee refers to Nielsen/NetRatings (152).

The author also provides opinions of Fred Stutzman who is a student of the University of North Carolina and viewpoints of Nicole Ellison, who is a professor at the Michigan State University, or Val Landi, who is a co-founder of WiredBerries, which is a newly launched website for females (Lee 153). Admittedly, the use of such experts’ viewpoints makes the article more credible. The author proves that this is not her own opinion, but there are professionals who can make conclusions due to their vast experience in the given field.

Pathos

Finally, the author also exploits pathos in her article. This means of persuasion makes the writing more appealing. For instance, Lee provides a quote which is very appealing, “It makes no sense to have a million of those pages” (152). Exaggeration ‘a million’ makes the sentence more emphatic and more emotional.

Another sentence, which appeals to the readers’ emotions, is as follows: “So where to next?” (Lee 155). This rhetoric question makes the reader think and try to find own answers. Therefore, the article reaches its major aim, i.e. it makes people aware of the issue and makes people think about it.

Conclusion

On balance, it is possible to note that the article in question contains ethos, pathos and logos. The author’s argument is well-grounded and she concisely provides evidence to support her claim. The use of these means of persuasion makes the article effective as it informs the reader about the issue, appeals to the readers’ emotions and makes the reader consider the problem and come to some conclusions.

Works Cited

Lee, Ellen. “Social Sites Are Becoming Too Much of a Good Thing.” The McGraw Hill Reader: Issues across the Disciplines. Ed. Gilbert H. Muller. Boston: McGraw-Hill, 2010. 152-155. Print.