Lynda Smith’s “Disconnected” Essay

Lynda Smith’s â€Å"Disconnected† is basically a collection of a variety of evidence and examples to prove how â€Å"technologically advanced communication devices have taken over our lives.† (76) She heavily relies on evidence and examples to convince the reader that people are spending too much time on all their devices and not enough on human contact. There are a profuse amount of examples Lynda uses in her paper. On page 77, Smith uses an anecdote of her friend, Ralph, who got caught up in a â€Å"self-perpetuating cycle† because of his desire to be connected to his loved ones at all time. In doing this, Lynda showed her readers a prime example of someone so infatuated with the technological advances of cell phones that it disconnected him from face-to-face time with people, ultimately causing him unnecessary turmoil and stress. This example is to prove her point on how dependant society has become on technology. Lynda also uses allusions in her piece, linking her argument and the common knowledge of big-name cell phone companies to show their impact on people’s lives. mentions the well-known cell phone company AT&T, which is an example of an allusion. She also mentions Verizon’s well-known slogan, â€Å"Can you hear me now?† In doing so, Smith is able to link her argument in with the common knowledge of cell phone companies and their influence. Smith also gives a scenario in her paper through a quote by Mark Slouka that says home computers will become more human. Smith does this to try to instill fear into her readers. Smith sprinkles an abundance of statistics and quotes from ‘authorities’ throughout her paper from ‘reliable sources’ such as the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the United States Department of Transportation, and The Encyclopedia of Psychology. These name-dropping attempts are meant to show credibility to her argument since she herself is just a student, not an â €Å"expert.† Obviously, Smith heavily relies on the previously stated examples and evidence. In fact, her paper is nothing but an assortment of allusions, anecdotes, statistics, and such. She appeals to people’s sense of value, character, and need through these examples and evidence in an attempt to convince the world that technology is brainwashing today’s society.