Education

Rhetorical Analysis

            The article ‘Facebook Exodus’ was written in the New York Times by Virginia Heffernan. It talks about how people are quitting Facebook. Although many people are joining Facebook daily, a small but significant number is quitting. The article gives the story of some people who have left Facebook and their reasons for doing so. Some of the reasons given are fear of stalkers and lack of privacy. The article goes ahead and recounts the story of one person, Harmsen, who was a Facebook user but now campaigns against it.

Virginia has delivered her message with conviction. She has used strong arguments and evidence to support her views. There are many issues that she has brought about, which are important. One of the issues is that of identity and addiction. People who use Facebook should not totally depend on it. This is because it may lead to the particular person being abused by the system. Facebook also steals a person’s identity by the way it requires one to write their profiles. It has a system, which dictates how a person writes their personal details. One is supposed to write according to the requirements outlined. It leaves no space for a person to add something that they feel is important and some fields, which one needs to omit, cannot be omitted. In this way, it can steal a person’s identity. She goes ahead and gives an example of this. Victoria has also noted the possibility of a person becoming addicted to Facebook. She has given the example of a woman who quit Facebook citing reasons that she was wasting too much time on it and yet she was not bonding with her friends

There are people who have quit Facebook, citing personal reasons. One of the reasons is the inability to form meaningful friendships. It is not easy to know whom one can trust and personal information, which may have been shared in confidence with the circle of friends, may be leaked to other people. Other personal issues that are cited can be serious. This includes the fear of stalkers. Other personal issues that she has cited can cause a person to have emotional problems. The article has given an example of a person who quit Facebook because someone else thought that she was too old. This can cause issues to some people.

There are people who have left Facebook because of being bombarded with messages from people who want to advertise and market their products. Marketers and advertisers invade a person’s personal space with their products. Facebook also wants to make money out of this while competing with the already established companies such as Google. In conclusion, Victoria has brought out relevant issues in the topic. She has brought out the major issues that make people quit Facebook using different sources of information. Her article has clearly achieved the purpose for which it was meant to achieve.

Works Cited

Heffernan, Virginia. “Facebook Exodus.” The New York Times 26, August 2009. Web. 07 May 2010.