For about a decade now, mobile technology has been on the rise while increasingly making an impact on our population socially. Although technology within its self has the bulk of control, social networks and communications sites grabs the attention of its users. Mobile phones are now looked upon as maybe handheld computers or as organizational gadgets. How often is a mobile phone just used for a simple phone call? Now that mobile phones have increased its ability to text, surf the web, and download apps, it has become a social distraction and a way to challenge social acceptance.
This image above symbolizes the rhetorical argument about the difference of need and want with mobile technology. You notice in the picture that everyone has a cell phone, so due to that situation they depict cell phones as a necessity. The context of this image came from a student blogger, who noticed advantages and disadvantages of cell phones. Also how mobile phone have become looked upon as need instead of a want. Consider the luxury that smart phones gives its users, Facebook, Twitter, interenet, apps, text-messaging, etc. Most people love the luxury because all types of social communication are wrapped into one gadget.
In my opinion the image plays on development of social reaction. When I say social reaction, I mean the way our society has the need to fit in with social norms in correlation to a positive reaction of their peers. Grant-Davie explains the importance of exigence, rhetor, and audience, when analyzing a rhetorical situation. “Exigence”, Grant-Davie emphasizes, “what the discourse is about, why it is needed and what should it accomplish.”(106) After understanding Grant-Davie definition of exigence, I can say that the significance of this photo is to illustrate the discourse of mobile technology and its ability to amplify through social groups.
In order to recognize the importance of rhetor Grant-Davie suggests, “rhetor is those people,real or imagined, responsible for the discourse and its authorial voice.”(108) From my understanding the definition of the rhetor in the image above is high school or college students sitting around on their cell phone in order to play a role with the connection to the audience. In which I believe this image is targeted towards young adults in connection to their ability to stay socially accepted through technological assets. The rhetor in this image helps establish, logos through appealing to the audience intellect on “what is a need” and “what a want is”. Furthermore the image can appeal to the pathos of the audience who cannot afford a mobile phone even though it may be looked upon as a want. For example, picture if there was a person in the image who did not have a cell phone. The person would look out of place and not accepted due to the norm of their peers.
“Audience”, Grant-Davie believes they are “those people real imagined, with whom rhetors negotiate though discourse to achieve the rhetorical questions.” (109) The view of the audience is the main purpose of rhetorical situations. The people in the image above are high school or college students with cell phones and define them as a necessity. The audience can compare themselves to the people and may consider cell phones as a necessity to them.
Grant-Davie extends his understanding of rhetors affecting the audience:
“Rhetors may invite audiences to accept new identities for themselves, offering readers to vision not of who they are but of what they could be. Readers begin the discourse in one role may find themselves persuaded to adopt a new role, or they may refuse the roles suggested by the discourse.” (110-111)
This image suggests the influence of your peers and the influence of technology with the younger generations. Readers notice the discourses of the advancement of mobile technology are able to relate and accept having a cell phone is a necessity. In which the rhetorical objective would be completed.
Although an image can establish its achievements through exigency, rhetor, and audience they may lack due to constraints. Grant-Davie implies “constraints” [as] factors in the situation's context that may affect the achievement of the rhetorical objectives. Constraints can come in many forms including people, objects, events, or reactions. Possible constraints in the image above may include no advertisement for cell phone companies or what type of cell phones they have. Additionally, people who cannot afford cell phones may not be included in the social construction. Other possible constraints may be the way the visual argument is perceived. The viewers may not get a complete understanding of the suggested argument. Additionally the rhetor can be a possible constraint, considering it may only target audiences that consist of young adults. Lastly, the visual argument is just constrained to mobile phones instead technology as a whole. Mobile phones have its advantage in seeming most important, but different types of technology are also advancing; for example, ipods, ipads, tablets, laptops, gaming consoles, etc.
Concluding my opinion, the argument proved its effectiveness gaining the attention of its viewers through the use of logos and pathos. After reading Grant-Davie concepts on exigence, rhetor, audience , and constraints I can apply his factors towards the rhetorical situation to insight of the visual argument at hand. Additionally, this piece was effective because I believe my generation was the rhetor; in which was a direct link to myself personally. The artistic appeal of the image reached out to the audience through the rhetor that was used and the surroundings in the image. You notice the people in the image are at a coffee shop, reaching towards the commonality with high school students are college students. The blogger approach was to reach out to an audience who is greatly affected by mobile phones and mobile technology. Considering young adults, are growing with technology why not establish inquiry of what is needed and what is simply wanted. It is important for our generation to not get wrapped up in technology that we may not be able to differentiate what is considered a necessity.
References
Grant-Davie, Keith. "Rhetorical Situations and Their Constituents." Writing About Writing (1997): 101-19. Print.
Roque, Nichole. “Dude Wheres My Phone”. 25 November 2011.
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