Facebook and Loneliness (Essay Sample)

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Facebook and Loneliness
Introduction
Global interconnectivity between people from different regions and cultures is at its highest ever extent today. However, there are more lonely people in the world than ever before. This statement underlines the reality that people face today in the wake of the global popularity of social media networking. In contemporary society, people have shifted from more personal and real one-on-one interactions to virtual friendships based on the internet. Facebook is the largest medium on which such virtual relationships are based. Although Facebook in itself does not cause loneliness, it may contribute to practices that foster loneliness among its users. In his article, "Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?" Stephen Marche talks about the way Facebook may contribute to alienation of individuals and making people lonely despite its promise of the opposite. His article is compelling and persuasive not only because of his rhetorical strategies, but also because of the fact that his audience can relate to the subject matter. This paper provides a summary of Marche’s article, underlines his clever use of rhetorical strategies, and provides a personal reaction to the subject based on my personal experiences with Facebook.
"Is Facebook Making Us Lonely?" is the title of a very compelling May, 2012 article by Stephen Marche featured in The Atlantic. The article begins by alluding to the case of Yvette Vickers, a well-known personality who died and remained undiscovered for the better part of one year. She did not have real close friends or family. This case introduces the article well, as the author proceeds to illustrate how Facebook is connecting people, but contributing to the death of real interpersonal connectedness. The author is keen to draw parallels between Vickers and many people in contemporary society. He writes, "The real danger with Facebook is not that it allows us to isolate ourselves, but that by mixing our appetite for isolation with our vanity, it threatens to alter the very nature of solitude" (Marche 1). This statement captures the author’s message that the real pull for Facebook users is the fusion of distance with intimacy. People want to exhibit themselves and be validated. Marche also notes that people want relationships while protecting themselves from them. The notion of social network interconnectedness, according to the author is best summed up by the title Alone Together, a 2011 book by Sherry Turkle. The author cites this book, among other sources to support his points on the loneliness contributed by Facebook. Facebook may foster loneliness that is not useful because it is not used for self-reflection, but for thinking of ways in which people can be less lonely.
Stephen Marche makes use of the rhetorical appeals of ethos, logos, and pathos to persuade his audience. He relies on ethos to create credibility and authority around his message. This task is made easier by the fact that many people can relate to and have experienced the effects of Facebook and social media in general. As a social media user I can relate to this subject and I was eager to find out how Facebook could be affecting my social life. The author earns credibility by illustrating the results of researchers on the subject. For example, he mentions a study conducted by a team of researchers from the University of Denver. The study was a look into "the paradoxical effects of valuing happiness" (Marche 1). I believe the article supports Marche’s claim about the narcissistic nature of Facebook users who exhibit themselves and seek validation. The study supports the observation that if people feel valued their sense of success and happiness rises. However, he states that the more people try to be happy, the less happy they become. He supports this observation with a similar observation made by Sophocles, a respected and credible philosopher. Marche also likens his article and claims to other writings such as Sherry Turkle’s 2011 text, Alone Together, which collaborates his message by making it look like a commonly shared view. Marche also mentions real facts and figures such as the 16,057 Facebook posts and many tweets that were made after Vickers’ death. The purpose of this strategy is to strengthen the article’s claims.
Marche also uses the pathos strategy, an appeal to the emotion of his readers. This appeal is best represented by the introductory story of Yvette Vickers. The circumstances surrounding Vickers’ life in the few months before and after her death evoke sadness and pity. However, the story also provides an emotional sense of awakening for the reader, by making them strive to avoid following in Vickers’ footsteps. Nobody wants to be sad, lonely and unimportant in the world, as Vickers must have felt in her last days. The story is effective because it caught my attention and made me sad. It made me want to read further. The author also gives a scathing analysis on Facebook users by describing them as narcissistic, lonely and isolated. Personally, this analysis jump-starts them on my process of self-examination and evaluation. Like me, other readers of this article are likely to be on Facebook. They are likely to have an emotional reaction to the article. They may feel a sudden need to reevaluate their online friendships or reliance on Facebook. Nevertheless, the assessment by the author is so true and convincing that his message is likely to hit home.
Thirdly, Marche uses logic to explain his ideas. The result is success at persuasion. For example, he uses the logic of research findings and applies it to his claims on Facebook. For example, he writes that, "In 1950, less than 10 percent of American households contained only one person. By 2010, nearly 27 percent of households had just one person" (Marche 1). This statement is an observation based on research results. The purpose of these figures is for the author to express the logic that there is an increase in the number of households with only one occupant. The reasoning is that this data points to the fact that more people are living solitarily today than was the case sixty years ago. Although solitary living does...