Digital rhetoric is one of those terms that requires a lot of thinking and reading to truly understand its meaning. And trust me, it’s not as simple as just knowing the definition of both “digital” and “rhetoric” and sandwiching the two together (YET!). As a college student who struggled to define this term, I am taking on the challenge to teach you, my reader, the simplest, most straightforward definition of this phrase so that you (hopefully) won’t have to struggle as much as I did.
Some Backstory (The Bread of the Digital Rhetoric Sandwich)
In chapter one of Digital Rhetoric: Theory, Method, Practice, author Doug Eyman attempted to define the term “digital rhetoric” for his readers by discussing information from several researchers. Unfortunately for me, the definitions and examples he provided did not click in my brain and, quite honestly, made me more confused.
After conducting some of my own research, I feel ready to share my gatherings in hopes of helping you, dear reader.
Digital & Rhetoric (The Real Goodness of the Sandwich)
To get to the main point of this blog in a timely manner, I will be saving you from the pain of defining the term “digital” in this blog post. However, if you are interested in hearing what I have to say about the word, I already have a blog posted all about it!
Now that that’s out of the way, to understand “digital rhetoric,” we first need to get a grip on the term rhetoric. To make it simple, think of rhetoric as being so good at something that you are capable of strategically applying knowledge to that topic. With this level of understanding and ability, you are then able to communicate things on that topic that can influence or persuade others.
Putting the Sandwich All Together
Since we are now comfortable with the terms “digital” and “rhetoric” as individual words, let’s put them together.
The term “digital rhetoric” explains the use of digital tools (like social media platforms, TV commercials, and online advertisements) to convey messages and persuade audiences. We see this done constantly as users of the internet, whether it’s through a famous influencer trying to sell you a product through a TikTok video or a pharmaceutical company creating a commercial with an incredibly catchy song to tell you about their drug. These types of campaigns and advertisements use digital rhetoric to influence our thought processes and persuade us into purchasing or using the product.
Final Thoughts (The Lettuce, Tomato, Mayo of the Sandwich)
The next time you find yourself falling for an ad on your social media feed or a commercial on your TV, just remember that someone who’s really good at marketing is using digital rhetoric to sell you on that product. Now, don’t be so gullible and think before you’re influenced!
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