Analyse af Aleks Krotoskis 'Hate and the internet' og cyber-bullying

1. How does Aleks Krotoski catch and hold the reader’s attention in text 2?

In the text “Hate and the internet: Does the internet encourage insidious and bullying behaviour?” the writer, Aleks Krotoski, manages to catch and hold the readers attention, by using different methods of argumentation. These include the three methods of appealing, Ethos, Pathos and Logos. These are all modes of persuasion, which are often used to convince different audiences, depending on the subject. Ethos appeals to the credibility of the author. The use of ethos comes to light in this text, when Krotoski starts off by telling the reader about the first time he put on his “digital mask”. With this mask, he states that he “instantly discovered the thrill of anonymity” (Krotoski, pg. 1), which leads the reader to believe that Krotoski has had experience with portraying as an alternative online persona by the name of “Dan”. Further more, he admits that he did in fact take part in some online bullying, when he “began a brief but satisfying tirade of mockery…” (Krotoski, pg. 1). Despite ending this short period cyber-bullying, the author still admits, that the experience of anonymity on the internet, still remains in the back of his head. These are all examples that largely support his credibility. Aleks Krotoski also uses pathos, in order to appeal to the reader’s sense of emotion. This is shown through the use of harsh examples of current sites, which indulge in online hate, such as “GodHatesFags.com” (Krotoski, pg. 2). These sites promote and supply “intellectual ammunition…” (Krotoski, pg. 2) in hopes of turning others against those the site refers to as ‘fags’. In the following sentence in Krotoski’s text it is explained, that these websites often fail to recruit new ‘believers’, to which the author uses the word ‘thankfully’. This describes his feelings towards the matter. Lastly, with the use of logos, Aleks Krotoski manages to appeal to the logical side of the matter. He incorporates sure facts into his text, by using studies by Dr. Karen Douglas from the University of Kent. These facts include the psychological understanding behind the use of anonymity to bully people online. The fact that these statements are from such a reliable source makes the reader believe what Krotoski is saying. Furthermore, Krotoski adequately uses rhetorical questions in order to catch the reader’s attention, and possibly make them think about the situation themselves.