Exigence
According to Bitzer, rhetorical exigence is the puzzle to be solved that has a reason that strongly invites utterance(page 5). He also claims that the work of rhetoric is that" it comes into existence for the sake of something beyond itself; it
functions ultimately to produce action or change in the world..."("The Rhetorical Situation"). In order to write something that aims to produce change, you need to have an issue that is worth changing in your opinion. The issue at hand is whether or not mobile technology is good for an individual's life. The reason for writing on this topic is that mobile technology is used every day for multiple different things, one of the most important things being communication. The issue at hand is whether or not mobile technology is good for an individual's life. Lot's of different factors play into how the mobile technology affects our lives. The main arguments that are used to say that cell phones specifically and also tablets are addiction(3) and harmful radiation from the products(1). Almost all of the positive effects have to do with communication(doing business, keeping in touch, reaching a broader audience(2).
Audience
In this day and age almost anyone over the age of 10 is invested in this issue as almost anyone over the age of 10 has a cell phone. Looking at the possible health risks associated with cell phones directly correlates to every single person who uses one. Addiction applies mainly to teenagers and young adults. Although this part of the topic has the ability to apply to just about every user. The communication aspects apply mainly to adults as they use cell phones and other mobile technology to do business and not only do business but stay in touch with their friends that they do not see every day. This does apply to teenagers as well but not as much considering that most teenagers see their friends every day. As I quoted earlier, rhetoric aims to produce change. If I take that into account then them main audience I should be focusing on is teenagers and young adults as this topic applies most heavily towards them.
Sources
1.http://www.lef.org/magazine/2007/8/report_cellphone_radiation/Page-01
2.http://science.opposingviews.com/positive-effects-technology-communication-1418.html
3.http://www.huffingtonpost.com/news/cell-phone-addiction/
Great blog post Ryan! It is always entertaining to read one of your rants. I think your topic is very interesting and urgent as our generation is sort of the “guinea pig” of how mobile technology affects our lives from early childhood to death. According to Bitzer, exigency is “a defect, an obstacle, something waiting to be done” (Bitzer). I think mobile technology at an early age can be viewed as an obstacle and this creates a great exigency for your issue. One problem I have with your issue however is that you’re trying to find out “whether or not mobile technology is good for an individual's life”. I think you need to define what “good” is. “Good” can mean lots of things and I think it is very important you create a stipulative definition in order to make your issue more manageable. On to your audience, I agree that this topic will cover mainly young adults and teens because these are the generations that have had mobile technology with them since childhood. Bitzer defines a rhetorical audience as “those persons who are capable of being influenced by discourse and of being mediators of change” (Bitzer). I think it is important to make sure your audience can affect change and be influenced by this discourse. My recommendation would be to not shoot for an audience any younger than 12. One last comment would be to create another stipulative definition for “mobile technology” so your audience knows what kinds of technology (phones, laptops, computers, radio, TV?) you are talking about. Overall great blog post Ryan and good luck with your research. Remember make it manageable!
ReplyDeleteRyan, I really enjoy this topic and I was about to do it myself. I feel that your blog addresses a lot of the views and claims flotating around the media today. I liked how you went into detail about the people you are attempting to address. The only thing I would change a little is to focus a little more on our generation and the effects technology has on the younger people today. I also think that you should go into great detail about the positive and negative aspects of technology use. Overall, you hit on a lot of good ideas and you are definitely in the right direction.
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