Retorisk analyse af 'Coming of Age on the Internet'

Written assignment: Rhetorical analysis of “Coming of Age on the Internet”

The text is called “Coming of Age on the internet” and is written by Wary Herbert. Warry Herbert states that he was a late comer to the internet, just like the most people of his generation. Further down, he writes that he had paid close attention to the problems regarding the early days of the internet. Some of the problems included, social isolation an obsession in the relatively young population using the internet in its early days of the mid-90s. Therefore, the internet seemed like a dark place to our writer Wary Herbert, further down the text he states that the internet has evolved into a more socially oriented place and bright, in contrast to what he thought earlier.

To back up his claims he finds grounds in scientific studies, and common worriers of the people in the mid-90s. On the first page within the first 10 lines, he states that he was far from alone in his worriers and that scientific research documented, that there were some real risks for teenagers p, for example the lack of close friendships and poorer connections with family members.

Later in the text he finds grounds in the research of Patti Valkenburg and Jochen Peter of the university of Amsterdam, who are revisiting some of the old concerns, from the early days of the internet. They now claim that the psychological benefits may outweigh the detrimental effects. Because 8 out of 10 teens are now on the internet, compared to the only 1 in 10 in the late 90s, that means that there is a greater overlap between the digital and real world than ever before. This great overlap makes teens nurture and build on their friendships and relationships, rater than swapping them for digital ones.