Social Networking & Its Impact on Dating & Hookups

Rhetorical Essay of Social Networking

Nancy Jo Sales claims that in 2013, there was a spike in the usage of social media that has never been seen before. This use in social media is strong in the category of love and dating. Websites such as Tinder, Grindr, and Blendr have taken over the world of hookups and dating for young adults and teenagers. Even Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter are being slightly abused by some of the younger generations who claim quick “DM” or comment on a post could help find a hookup.

With such an easy access to finding sex online, Sales claims that this is hindering the growth of gender roles for younger people, especially men. The effect this has for women is yet to be determined, however, the appeal to our emotions and stories from the young women affected by the surge in online dating apps makes a good case for her argument. Excessive use in social networking is conveyed through the piece using a character and authoritative facts from the women talking about their past sexual experiences, through the different points of view through the piece, and the emotions that are included from the girls. Sales are able to get her points through with the use of rhetorical appeal that is appealing to the credibility of the females who were asked about their experiences with the use of social media and online dating.

A lot of the points that were made were relatively the same because a negative connotation was presented from all of them. A few had decent experiences that were worth noting but many weren’t. A lot of the stories are relatively the same, however, each one has its own twist to it. One girl had her experience with a guy who didn’t even turn out the way she expected him to look like at all while other girls get text messages from guys who only want sex from them. The apps certainly make it convincing that it’s easier to land “quick hookups” and satisfy what each gender want.

These legitimate stories from all the girls make a huge case for how shallow guys are being these days since the access is so easy. “Guys actually take the Facebook-stalking situation way too far,” meaning sexually, said Zoe. Using too much of social media for that sole purpose is a little bit much personally. The idea of it makes me think that these networking systems are creating a lot of “man-whores.” While they all seem like credible stories, one can make it more dramatic than what really happened. However, with something that is personal to them like hookups and sexually related activities, they would want to be honest with Sales because this improves her persuasion to present to the audience that social media networks related to dating are corrupting the lives of young adults especially guys who have easier access to prey on girls that might intrigue them.

Another reason that convinces readers that social media networks are a negative influence on dating and hookups are the points of view throughout the article. Sales start out in the first person with facts about how social media has risen in use over the past couple years by over 81%, which is astonishing. She mentions how the more media used results in a situation that drastically affects gender roles for young adults and teenagers. It’s important to note that when she explains her statistics she gathered, she is also a woman and can relate on the half of the girls who were also interviews because she might have had similar experiences when she was younger with guys looking for a hookup.

The article then proceeds to a third person stance where many girls use a legit argument against dating apps and their awkward experiences with guys. How they handled the situation is impressive because being in a situation like that is difficult to get out of without verbal or possible physical abuse. A very striking part of the story I noticed was the amount of slang and uncomfortable language used to describe experiences. With this in mind, the intended audience has to be for younger adults or teenagers since I couldn’t see adults or parents reading this and taking it seriously. My stance is that it is almost too uncomfortable for anyone to take serious but since the stories in view of the girls, they have the most convincing part in persuading the reader to believe how evil social media has become.

The view Sales has against social media is fine for many readers of Vanity Fair but when we get into what the girls experienced, it’s similar to porn except it is written more formally into an article, unlike a video or picture. A lot of emotion can also be drawn from the article based on how the girls reacted from the effects of social media on the hookup culture. Sales' evidence from the girls gave a great arguing point about the pitfalls of social media for younger adults.

Lots of the emotion and strong words the girls used in the piece that was quite vulgar brought my attention for sure. "You can be sitting in class getting a boner ’cause some girl is texting you that she wants to suck your dick,” said a boy in L.A. “It’s kind of distracting.” The emotion from the guys is pretty careless which is expected but there is a lot of feelings the girls express when they let out their thoughts. “The thing with social media is, if a guy doesn’t respond to you or doesn’t, like, stalk you back, then you’re gonna feel rejected,” said Melissa.

There is quite a bit of emotion from this because she wants us to feel bad for her since she has been affected by the rejection of guys who don’t possibly want to hookup at all. It’s a shame but it’s convincing enough to persuade that social media causes tension and problems when abused. Even worse, the problems with social media are that it can lead to signs of depression and anxiety which are huge effects of one’s mental health.

The dangers of social media can be seen through the emotions of many girls and guys which need to be solved soon to keep the younger adults role in society normal. The direction that social media is heading in is concerning for the younger generations below us. Especially when they become teenagers, the easy exposure to sexual activity will increase and affect the gender roles in society if limits are not set. “Sex is everywhere. Everything is sexualized. They’re all reading Fifty Shades of Grey” said Kim Goldman is the director of the Santa Clarita Valley Youth Project, a counseling service for teens.

The emotions, facts, and views from the girls and guys who leaked information regarding this topic make a very detailed case for why we are seeing issues in social networking today. Nancy Sales also makes plenty of good remarks about the issues and backs it up with supporting statistics regarding the jumps in social media and how it will affect the younger adults and teenagers for years to come. The access to an easy hookup is now in full effect and we could come face to face with the collapse of social skills if we can’t find our desires through human conversation and not by the push of a button or swipe on a screen.