Technology Today

Technology is exponentially becoming more and more advanced, but is this always beneficial to society? It is safe to say majority of the population owns a smartphone or smart-device and that these devices hold a lot of value sitting at a hefty price. The value of these devices can be seen as superficial yet vastly necessary in my opinion.

The superficial value, meaning quite worthless, stems from the fact that some people are so buried, addicted and hidden behind a screen that physical interaction and conversation skills are compromised. This leads me into the social media aspect of technology. Today being a “social media influencer” is a career, yet there are no credentials except having a unique trait to offer. Social media is quickly becoming a career field requiring so called influencers to be extremely active on the app, spark constant creativity and collaborate with companies as well as other influencers. The impact a single post can make on a follower is substantial considering it is just a message or picture on a screen. What many of these followers fail to consider are the rhetorical aspects of the influencer and their message. As touched on before, there are no credentials or education required to claim yourself as a nutritionist, stylist, designer or athlete to name a few titles on social media, so influencers can be posting without any ethos or logos at all. The information on social media is coming from unreliable sourcing in most cases. On top of the fact, there is no guarantee the person on the other side of the screen is even who they say they are. A lack of ethos and logos relies on strong pathos to make their somewhat weak claim seem valuable to their followers. Tying their claim or personal belief to relatable emotion is an effective strategy to growing their platform. Yes, personal experience on a topic can contribute to ethos, but the science behind it is missing. False information has the potential to skew the majority’s mindset regarding a subject and leads to bias, potential environmental danger and health risks depending on the topic of concern.

On the very opposite of the spectrum, I do also believe technology is indeed necessary in today’s society. Americans are go, go, go; thriving off efficiency and transcendence. Technology opens a lot of doors in terms of communication and marketing. The ability to send a text handsfree, call by asking Siri to do so or sending an email without even opening a laptop offers so many opportunities for communication to larger and farther audiences. The ability to get an answer to practically any question in seconds via a google search increases productivity. Technology also opens door for opportunities like this class. We as students enrolled in an online course are learning valuable technical writing skills, completing general education requirements and are obtaining credits toward graduation in the comfort of our schedules and home. The convenience factor of technology is remarkable. The instant gratification in getting an answer this quickly is addicting to the mind. Why read a book or multiple research papers to get a well-rounded understanding when google can give an answer without having to move more than a thumb or two? That is a hypothetical question, but it crosses the minds of people every day. In a few years as technology advances alongside the green movement to eliminate waste in the environment, hard copies of flyers, newspapers and so called “old fashioned” literature may become a rare sighting.

Tying these two opinions together as a technology and social media user, smartphone owner, and online course student is a balancing act, for examining the rhetoric of online sourcing is key to doing so. The three components of rhetoric- ethos, pathos and logos- work to effectively transmit a message to an audience. By considering this trifecta, people can use technology efficiently and with confidence in accuracy. Although there are so many issues resulting from technology the advantages cannot be ignored.