Matthew Hays
Professor Belknap
9/21/2014
English 111, 8:00
Summary and Respone to “You Have No Friends” In his essay “You Have No Friends” Farhad Manjoo makes a case for the utility of Facebook. Manjoo explains that having a Facebook page has become so popular that it is now not only useful for keeping in contact with friends and family, but it has almost become a necessity for anyone looking to easily network with others for any reason. “[Facebook] has crossed a threshold – it is now so widely trafficked that it's fast becoming a routine aide to social interaction, like e-mail and antiperspirant” (353). In the essay “You Have No Friends” Manjoo tries to convince social network holdouts to embrace the developing new technology. “Instead I'd …show more content…
As someone who has (quite happily) separated myself from Facebook, I found Manjoo's arguments ineffective, even when they manage to escape blatant insolence. From the first page “You Have No Friends” rankles against its intended target. Manjoo opens his argument with the sentiment “Friends – can I call you friends? – it's time to drop the attitude: There is no longer any good reason to avoid Facebook” (353). Which offers little to open the minds of those that Manjoo is trying to convince. Starting with a personal attack on already skeptical readers is no way to sway them to your view. Even the title of the essay “You Have No Friends” seems intended to irritate. Manjoo later backtracks by saying “The [Facebook] holdouts I contacted this way weren't haughty – they were nice, reasonable people with entirely rational-sounding reasons for staying off the site” (354). But even this minute concession implies Manjoo's view of Facebook holdouts as haughty and irrational. So before making any attempt to sway his readers Manjoo paints those individuals without Facebook as friendless, haughty, irrational people with an attitude problem. But at least we can make up rational-sounding reasons, even if they aren't actually
Professor Belknap
9/21/2014
English 111, 8:00
Summary and Respone to “You Have No Friends” In his essay “You Have No Friends” Farhad Manjoo makes a case for the utility of Facebook. Manjoo explains that having a Facebook page has become so popular that it is now not only useful for keeping in contact with friends and family, but it has almost become a necessity for anyone looking to easily network with others for any reason. “[Facebook] has crossed a threshold – it is now so widely trafficked that it's fast becoming a routine aide to social interaction, like e-mail and antiperspirant” (353). In the essay “You Have No Friends” Manjoo tries to convince social network holdouts to embrace the developing new technology. “Instead I'd …show more content…
As someone who has (quite happily) separated myself from Facebook, I found Manjoo's arguments ineffective, even when they manage to escape blatant insolence. From the first page “You Have No Friends” rankles against its intended target. Manjoo opens his argument with the sentiment “Friends – can I call you friends? – it's time to drop the attitude: There is no longer any good reason to avoid Facebook” (353). Which offers little to open the minds of those that Manjoo is trying to convince. Starting with a personal attack on already skeptical readers is no way to sway them to your view. Even the title of the essay “You Have No Friends” seems intended to irritate. Manjoo later backtracks by saying “The [Facebook] holdouts I contacted this way weren't haughty – they were nice, reasonable people with entirely rational-sounding reasons for staying off the site” (354). But even this minute concession implies Manjoo's view of Facebook holdouts as haughty and irrational. So before making any attempt to sway his readers Manjoo paints those individuals without Facebook as friendless, haughty, irrational people with an attitude problem. But at least we can make up rational-sounding reasons, even if they aren't actually