Rhetorical Analysis Of The TED Talk By Abda Dawesar

In the TED Talk, “Life in the “digital now””, Abda Dawesar speaks about how technology has created another universe where individuals immerse themselves in an abstract world where time is neglected. This causes people to draw themselves away from their reality and confuses them with timely events in the past, present and future. Through this talk, the speaker appeals to people who are educated people like government representatives, innovators, teachers and parents to prevent individuals from being submerged into a world that is unreal because of the negative outcomes of the digital world. In the TED Talk, “Life in the “digital now””, the speaker appealed to her audience by effectively conveying her personal experiences by creating a mood to reconnect to real current experiences shared among her audience and her ethos was enhanced with her experience as a novelist and; although, the lack of evidence and research works in her speech was not enough to establish strong logos for her target audience.

She starts by recollecting a tragic event in New York where Hurricane Sandy had inflicted great damages people around the country. Then goes on by portraying a common personal experience by her audience during the hurricane at “Madison and 5th Avenue [where people are] under their umbrellas charging their cell phones from outlets in the street[]” (Dawesar, 2013, 00:51) trying to stay connected to online news and events. This effectively catches the attention of the people who were affected by the calamity; as well as digital users who have immersed themselves to being connected to the digital world and slowly they are drifting away from their