Rhetorical situation

Topic

One of your exam tasks asks you to focus on the topic of the TED talk “How a handful of tech companies control billions of minds every day” by Tristan Harris. The topic of his talk is the influence of tech companies and internet platforms on human psychology. 

Harris argues that tech companies and internet platforms compete in a race for human attention (l. 16). He provides several examples regarding the way in which human psychology is shaped to ensure that tech companies are the only ones who benefit and make a profit.

While Harris draws attention to the problems created by tech companies and to the dangers of spending too much time online, he also provides some solutions. Towards the end of his talk, Harris explains that change must take place in three steps: transforming our self-awareness, creating a model of ethical persuasion based on our needs, and transforming companies’ accountabil...