Topic

The essay “How Not to Be Alone” by Jonathan Safran Foer explores the topic of the impact of modern communication technology on people and society. In exploring this issue, the writer also discusses the topic of empat…

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The impact of technology and empathy

Foer starts with a personal story about seeing a girl crying and considering comforting her. This made him reflect on how technology affects our behavior: “It is harder to intervene than not to, but it is vastly harder to choose to do either than to retreat into the scrolling names of one’s contact list, or whatever one’s favorite iDistraction happens to be.” (ll. 34-38)

The writer goes on to argue that technology makes people less likely to feel empathy and more likely to ignore others, using his own example and psychological studies: “My daily use of technological communication has been shaping me into someone more likely to forget others.” (ll. 44-46); “The more distracted we become, and the more emphasis we place on speed at the expens…

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Argumentation

Jonathan Safran Foer mostly uses direct argumentation in his essay. This means that the writer expresses his views and arguments directly.

For example, he openly argues that technology is affecting people’s capacity for empathy: “The more distracted we become, and the more emphasis we place on speed at the expense of depth, the less likely and able we are to care.” (ll. 55-58); “The problem with accepting — with preferring — diminished substitutes is that over time, we, too, become diminished substitutes.” (ll. 104-106)

A marker of direct argumentation is the use of logical reasoning or logical explanation. For example, the writer describes the initial role of technology: “We couldn’t always see one ano…