Rhetorical Analysis

In the article, “Miss G: A Case Of Internet Addiction,” New York Times writer Virginia Heffernan addresses the issue of Internet addiction. Heffernan’s purpose is to inform her readers that an Internet addiction might not apply to those who use the Internet for good. She uses authoritative figures and proves her research. She adopts an objective tone in order to prove to Internet users that Internet addiction is not always the case.

Heffernan’s tone throughout the article is very objective. Heffernan says, “Fantasy life and real life should, ideally, be brought into balance- but no student who is making decent grades needs to get off the Internet just because it would look more respectable or comprehensible to be playing chess, throwing a Frisbee, or reading a George Orwell paperback.” In this quote, her tone is objective to the student who believes that she is addicted to the Internet. Heffernan shows through this quote that she believes this isn’t an example of someone who is actually addicted to the Internet. She also says, “And it is no accident that the Internet attracts a certain kind of young, dreamy mind at some liberty to find itself- the type that in earlier eras might have been drawn to novels or movies.” Heffernan is saying that people use the Internet the same way people used to use books and movies.

In the article, Heffernan uses a logical appeal by appealing to authority. She mentions Dr. Kimberly Young, a professor from St. Bonaventure University. Heffernan talks about an Internet addiction questionnaire that Dr. Young established in 1998. In the fifth paragraph of the article, Heffernan says, “Dr. Young told me she believes the Internet is addictive in part because it ‘allows us to create new personalities and use them to fulfill unmet psychological needs.’” Using this quote from Dr. Young allows Heffernan to get a professionals opinion in her article. The use of this quote makes her story more reliable because she has the opinion of someone...