Rhetorical Analysis Of Pokémon Go By Anna Davies

In the last 30 years’ obesity rates in children have doubled and in adolescents, have quadrupled (CDC, 2015, para 1). New York Post journalist Anna Davies, illustrates how the new pop culture phenomenon, Pokémon Go is a superb idea that is great for getting children on the move. Davies describes Pokémon Go as a “parents dream”, perceiving it as a remedy for parents in getting their children off of the couch, and out exploring the outdoors. Through the integration of a laudatory tone, personal facts, and statements from the public; Davies recognizes her audience and is able to play into the emotions of the reader while convincing them of her credibility and the benefits of the app.
Davies begins the article by discussing some of the concerns

Though these are actual reports and could be seen by some as concerning, it seems as though she chose these concerns as they are quite minor in regards to the app. The reasoning behind this is due to the fact that there has only been a small portion of people who have actually had these issues. For example, a more troubling apprehension that was discussed briefly later on in the article with the app is the increased amount of screen time in what was already an overwhelming amount in today’s society. Again, after stating this negative in about sentence, she quickly concludes that at least the app is getting kids off the couch. This deliberate avoidance displays what could be

By realizing that the main audience of this article would be adults, especially those who have children, she intelligently plays into this through her consistent reference to the past and how great it was to be a child in the 1970s and 80s, even with the high crime rates. She then continues on by praising the invention of the ever so popular app, referring to the “Good old Days” and how the addition of Pokémon Go has kids out exploring like older generations used to do when they were young (Davies, 2016, para 3). She compares the app to activities that older generations used to do such as hunting for salamanders at the park. By creating this linkage between the two generations she is effectively creating this emotional tie to the app; thus able to grab the reader’s attention as she presents her argument through the rest of the