“Everyday Surveillance”
William Staples’ “Everyday Surveillance” first appeared in his own book published in 2000, Everyday Surveillance: Vigilance and Visibility in Postmodern Life. In this article, Staples aims to convince his teenage audience that the present world is exposed to constant surveillance, letting our privacy fade out completely. Personal anecdotes, contrast, and metaphors are techniques Staples skillfully uses to create a strong, convincing article. Through his strong use of evidence, Staples is able to persuade the young audience by making them aware of the dangers of their constant visibility to others. Staples’ specific audience is composed of juveniles in the modern world, as they’re the ones who are most likely in peril with this situation. Today’s social media allows people to be entirely public about their personal lives, and therefore may be watched by everyone. Staples decides to begin his essay listing several facts and statistics that introduce what his thesis is. He starts with describing low rates of the frequency of surveillance, and evidence by evidence, the rates increase, as if Staples wants to create a graduated scale of these. It is a great way to capture the reader's interest. An anecdote in the essay explains one of the ways in which video cameras were introduced …show more content…
“In the past, the watchful eyes of a small shopkeeper may have deterred a would-be shoplifter; her surveillance was personal, not terribly systematic, and her memory, of course, was fallible. She was more likely to know her customers (and they her), to keep a ‘closer eye’ on strangers” (Staples 253). The anecdote clearly provides evidence and support for the fact that automatic surveillance is not as effective as watching people, being able to tell apart the good ones from the
William Staples’ “Everyday Surveillance” first appeared in his own book published in 2000, Everyday Surveillance: Vigilance and Visibility in Postmodern Life. In this article, Staples aims to convince his teenage audience that the present world is exposed to constant surveillance, letting our privacy fade out completely. Personal anecdotes, contrast, and metaphors are techniques Staples skillfully uses to create a strong, convincing article. Through his strong use of evidence, Staples is able to persuade the young audience by making them aware of the dangers of their constant visibility to others. Staples’ specific audience is composed of juveniles in the modern world, as they’re the ones who are most likely in peril with this situation. Today’s social media allows people to be entirely public about their personal lives, and therefore may be watched by everyone. Staples decides to begin his essay listing several facts and statistics that introduce what his thesis is. He starts with describing low rates of the frequency of surveillance, and evidence by evidence, the rates increase, as if Staples wants to create a graduated scale of these. It is a great way to capture the reader's interest. An anecdote in the essay explains one of the ways in which video cameras were introduced …show more content…
“In the past, the watchful eyes of a small shopkeeper may have deterred a would-be shoplifter; her surveillance was personal, not terribly systematic, and her memory, of course, was fallible. She was more likely to know her customers (and they her), to keep a ‘closer eye’ on strangers” (Staples 253). The anecdote clearly provides evidence and support for the fact that automatic surveillance is not as effective as watching people, being able to tell apart the good ones from the