Cook 1

Bryant Cook
Ms. Jennings
English 111-13
November 6, 2014
Rhetorical Analysis
In Stephen Marches article, Is Facebook Making us Lonely? he explores an
interesting debate about social media. His purpose in writing is to introduce an interesting
topic about social media, Facebook in specific, causing loneliness among users. In a world
where social media is heavily prevalent, Marche tries to bring to the readers attention the
negative sides to social media. He is quoted in saying, Americans are more solitary than
ever before. In 1950, less than 10 percent of American households contained only one
person. By 2010, nearly 27 percent of households had just one person. Solitary living does
not guarantee a life of unhappiness, of course but it is definitely harder (1). Throughout his
article, Marche introduces ideas on whether Facebook is the cause of loneliness or is it really
just lonely people using Facebook. Through the use of facts and examples, Marche is
successful in targeting all social media users describing how Facebook causes loneliness.
Marche earns the readers credibility because he provides several various facts among
his article that would lead one to believe that he is a credible author. He provides the reader
with this in the first paragraph, A reporter on what the epidemic of loneliness is doing to our
souls and our society (1). Throughout the article he provides specific examples of how and
why Facebook causes loneliness. He does a good job of arguing both sides of the story of
whether or not Facebook does in fact cause loneliness. Marche organizes his argument very

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well. He provides legitimate information by including studies and experiments in his article.
This goes back to Marches use of the three Rhetorical devices, this one in general being
logos. Marche does an excellent job of using all three of the Rhetorical devices: Pathos,
Logos, and Ethos.
Marches tone in this article was not very strong, but more on the modest side. He had
a mild tone that almost allowed the reader to make the decision themselves. Marche brings
up a good point in saying that with social media on the rise, people are starting to lose true
friendships with one another. He quotes It is clear that social interaction matters. Loneliness
and being alone are not the same thing, but both are on the rise. We meet fewer people. We
gather less. And when we gather, our bonds are less meaningful and less easy (2). Marche
does an excellent job of presenting both sides of the argument and leaving it up to the reader
to choose the side. He includes a study that says, It may be that Facebook encourages more
contact with people outside of our household, at the expense of our family relationshipsor
it may be that people who have unhappy family relationships in the first place seek
companionship through other means, including Facebook (3).
All in all, Stephen Marche is successful in targeting social media users and warning
them of the negative effects that come along with Facebook. Marche does an excellent job in
his essay. He presented his argument in a modest tone. He also does an excellent job in using
all three of the rhetorical devices. He does a great job in presenting both sides of the
argument. He does an excellent job in establishing his credibility, and is excellent in
providing the reader with real world studies and experiments on the topic. And finally
Marche leaves the final say so in the reader. Does Facebook indeed cause loneliness or is this

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article just another article dealing with social media trying to stir it up? That is up for the
reader to decide.