Teens are going to extremes with texting
by The Jersey Journal (2009).
http://www.nj.com/hudson/voices/index.ssf/2009/10/editorial_teens_are_going_to_e.html
In this Editorial, the use of diction, figurative language, and details serve to explain the unhealthy side effects of excessive text messaging, while suggesting that teens are truly just helpless victims to this illness.
The author (who is not identified specifically, so will be referred to as "he") chooses words that emphasize the addiction aspect of this behavior, and portray the teens as helpless to fight back. He describes youths staying up all night with "thumbs pumping." Pumping calls to mind machinery, as though the kids are mindless and robotic, maybe even brainwashed, and thus not held accountable for their actions. He describes the "avalanche of messages" which, an avalanche is something that can't be stopped and the victims are pretty powerless, and how it is "robbing" children of sleep. Robbing also takes the blame off of the kids. They aren't willingly sacrificing their hours of sleep, it is being taken from them by this situation they're in. Later the author describes how there are rehab centers that serve to "wean" people off of technology. Wean emphasizes the addiction aspect and the weakness of the teens, but it also calls to mind infants being "weaned" off of breast milk. This is to generate sympathy for the teens, depicting them as vulnerable and in need of help.
Figurative language is used in a similar way, conveying sympathy for the teens struggling with this addiction. The author mentions how hard it is for teens to put down their phones because they "seem as natural as breathing." This simile implies that adolescents simply don't know any differently, and won't be able to recognize their behaviors as problematic, because they are normal for them. Later the author explains how the lack of sleep due to texting "results [in] poor performance, a sort of sleepwalking through classes and the day in a fog that some physicians liken to drunkenness." This imagery definitely demonstrates the harm that can fall on teens' health, and the association with drinking justifies the addictive nature of technology.
The use of details serves to solidify the argument with evidence. The author describes a specific teen girl, and how she sends over 10,000 text messages each month. To do this she has to interrupt her showers and stay up all night. By using a specific case study, it makes the argument more personal, which contributes to the sympathy the reader has been accumulating. Statistics are also used, like "13- to 17-year-olds send or receive an average of 1,742 text messages a month," and these add to the urgency of the editorial, making it seem like a true pandemic among us.
The purpose of this piece is to illustrate the text messaging problem many teens are facing, and to explain that it's not the teens' faults, but it's an addiction or illness they are victims of. The diction, language, and details carry this message to the reader.
***Ok, side note: I don't agree with this at all. We should be held accountable for our choices! There is no way that teens are just "victims" to texts. We are more than capable of NOT texting all night and I can't stand when people argue that kind of thing. People need to be held accountable for more; not everything is "a result of society's expectations" and whatever else annoying people say. Okay. I'm done.***
Mary,
ReplyDeleteThis is a great article to do this assignment with. The author had great examples of DIDLS to chose from. Your first paragraph was fantastic. The way you were able to pick out those words and find so much meaning to them was very impressive. The words used in this article often had deeper meanings and you were able to articulate them very well. Your ideas on figurative were great as well. The examples provided were fantastic. I did not notice those as much when I first read the article but once you pointed them out I saw how many times the author used figurative language so thank you for that. Lastly your paragraph on details was good. I agree that by throwing in so many statistics it made the article more reliable. It is also interesting the author did not provide any counter details in their argument. Overall, great job with this!
PS. I agree with you that this article has a very skewed view on teenagers responsibility for their own actions.
Avery
Mary,
ReplyDeleteThis was an interesting article and close read to say the least. I liked how you picked out the author’s diction and brought attention to it. The specific words you picked out were strong emphasizers of the addictive nature of texting. Your figurative language analysis was a little light on the evidence, I didn’t see the connection you were trying to make. You could go a little deeper with how the author’s was speaking figuratively, and help your reader make the connection, maybe I just missed it. The details you brought up were nice picks too. Especially about the girl that gets out of the shower to text, I couldn’t imagine being that obsessed! I think you were right on that the author used these details to shock the audience and make it sound more urgent. However, you might want to consider what the author did not focus his details on in the article, because he chose to use evidence that supported his claim and not the opposition. The fact that the author left out these details would have been a great way for you to embed your opinion as a non side note!
Mary,
ReplyDeleteThis was very eloquently written; your writing flows very smoothly. A fun connection I made when I got to the third paragraph: there have been studies showing that driving while sleep deprived presents very similar risks to driving while drunk. Back on topic, I liked how you grabbed the anecdotal evidence as part of the detail section, since this type of evidence tends to carry more weight than it technically deserves. I think your analysis was very thorough and effective. On a side note, I likewise agree with the sentiment that teens have to take some responsibility, though addiction is something to be considered on a case-by-case basis, which is why the anecdotal evidence carries so much weight here.