A Rhetorical Analysis Of Joseph Turow's The Daily You

In a world where advertising presence is continuing to grow, how do consumers know when their data is being collected and how it is being used to target them? To some consumers, data mining, the collection of data from internet users that can be used by companies and even the government, may not seem like a huge problem. Joseph Turow investigates the growing problem to today’s society in his book, The Daily You. Turow structures his article in a way that creates fear in the audience through directly speaking and relating to the reader, referencing specific examples, and using a negative tone throughout. By speaking directly to the reader, Turow is able to convey his message to them by using the word “you.” At the beginning of the article,

By looking deeper into the advertising companies, Turow says that a “different picture emerges” (228). Every one of the millions of people who use the internet every day are being targeted by companies; the reader and even Turow included. Turow even references the long term effects that these profilings could have on “our children and grandchildren,” which gives the reader a personal way to connect to the article

Turow includes surveys that he has taken over the years in which people have said that the information advertising companies collect makes them feel “creeped out” (233). By including these statistics, Turow references a large group of people and incorporates the reader into it. He says that while some groups have tried to limit the power of data mining companies, the main problem is that the everyday consumer does not know the extent or outcome of the data provided. Turow makes the reader feel like they are not alone by grouping them with a large amount of consumers who also feel unsettled by this breach of privacy.

To help prove his point, Turow includes examples of ordinary consumers and how advertising companies have affected their lives. Turow includes a story of a fictional, middle class family that has been targeted by advertising companies. This example is important because it illustrates the power of the media on a small scale and how it can affect families, the reader’s family included. Turow includes this fictional example because it is a real possibility in today’s world, and it happens to the family without them realizing