Whether we like it or not, the Internet, social media, and all of the related technology are here to stay. As evidenced every day in so many ways, this new technological landscape brings many wonderful benefits to our family's lives and relationships. At the same time, as with any new innovation, this impact has a dark side too.
There's no doubt that Facebook is one of the most powerful forms of media for communication today. More than a billion users chat, share photos, and keep their friends and family up to date on their lives regularly. Yet, there are dark sides to its use, along with other forms of social media. Users who don’t restrict the information they share online have a higher risk of identity fraud. In an article from New York Times by Tom Zeller Jr. he investigates an identity fraud person and talks about the frauds which are happening because of the carelessness of people and how this fraud slowly becomes a habit which landed him in prison which not only became suffering for others but also ruined his own and his family lives. The audience author is looking for here are the people who use the internet very extensively and those who are addicted to the internet, also to those people who are new to the world of social media. Because of their carelessness they leek out their personal information like Birthday , High school name , Email Address , Phone numbers , Pet name , Mothers Profile , Credit Card Details etc. In these articles they clearly points out the types of identity fraud and what are the ways to stay away from them. So their clear purpose is to warn the social media users to stay away from the fraud which can lead them to leak out their important information and handing over the money of their hard work in identity thief’s hands. So that people can learn from their mistakes and correct them in future.
The ethos of this article is effective because it was published in New York Times which is one of the leading dailies in USA and because the writer is very experienced and is working for New York Times for over 11 years. The article is also effective in ethos because of the point which the writer makes in the end about the survey. He clearly describes how the survey was done, how many people were involved in the survey and at what time the survey was conducted. These details provided by the author make him more credible. Whereas in the article the writer’s credibility can be seen in the way he describes identity thief Shiva Brent Sharma who is serving a two- to four-year term at the Mohawk Correctional Facility in Rome, N.Y. In the interview the identity thief describes how he used to do all the theft without any difficulty, the experience which he has along with the perfection of his work. Though it is not accepted in society he is good in that, and also the knowledge which he has and shared with the author is incredible. Further author describes how he made 20,000 dollars in just one theft, all by using his skills and technique. The experience and knowledge shared by the author about the thief makes article more credible.
The pathos of the article are also very strong, as now a day’s almost each and every individual can connect with this because most of us are using social media to a great extent. In the article the writer talks about how a person when interviewed neglects the survey saying “it doesn’t reveal any higher risk of fraud among Facebook users.” And then in reply the thief talks about how it is dangerous to update your information like including your full date of birth or your mother’s maiden name or the name of your pet, is valuable to thieves because companies often use such information to verify your identity online. Example mentioned in the article further makes its pathos strong explaining with vivid example like identity theft 2011, the report found, was an increase in reported data breaches, like those at Sony play station