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Link: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/10/22/opinion/technology-shut-off.html

Text type: opinion column

For who: middle-aged US liberals with children

Subject: tech Sabbath; taking 24 hours off from your phone

Purpose: persuade readers to try “tech Shabbat” to entertain

Visuals:

• The heading is bigger and has a slightly different font. Therefore, as the page loads, the reader will immediately see the topic of an article.

• The image on the top sets the article's theme (electronics' influence on our life). Moreover, the image shows two hands of different people,{} which might show addiction to the phone. It is a stock photo, and it is cited. The image doesn’t contain faces, so it might identify these hands as the reader’s ones. The readers can identify with users. Easy to digest.

• The NYT logo → credibility. The logo is old and recognizable, so the information looks fully trustworthy for middle-aged people. It’s old-fashioned and looks like a newspaper.

• The image of David Leonhard is fully rounded and taken from the photoshoot, which creates an impression of a professional attitude towards writing an opinion column. Moreover, the status written next to the image strengthens the effect. More direct to the reader. It gives readers an idea of who is addressing them. Marks the text as David Leonhard’s opinion.

• The text has quite a lot of whitespace between the paragraphs. The text is centred on the screen and left-aligned inside the container. So it looks more attractive and shorter and inviting

Structure:

• The newspaper is mentioned right on the top.

• The pre-story (first sentence) is an anecdote. It draws attention, ties in and introduces the connection between technology and family.

• Has a clear 2-part structure. 1st is a general introduction to Shabbat, 2nd part is an author’s experience and opinion. It ends with a call to action because it makes people come back.

• The article is split into small logical paragraphs. Such a structure is used to make information easier to digest and follow. In addition, because the article is aimed at the middle-aged upper middle class, small paragraphs keep readers on the website.

• Consistent referring to and quoting other people gives legitimacy to your words, making the point more objective and trustworthy.

• Ads and links logically separate the text.

• Connecting old information from the 1920s to modern issues. Because it is aimed at the middle-aged, it makes the entire article more engaging and relevant for people, giving food for thought and comparisons.

• He asks for readers’ feedback after his opinion as to if he is interested in the outcome of his “research”. Moreover, he takes the information for future articles

Language:

• 1st person contains to convincing other people about his opinion

• Despite using 1st person, he tries to show that the readers are doing the same (as if he is saying “you”). Marks his personal experience, and the use of “we” evokes the idea of the family during things together. Make language more evocative.

• Metaphor - We can barely catch our breath in the tsunami of personal and work digital input, which results in us not being truly present for any of it. “Imagine that”. Highlighting the fact that we are used to phones. And the joke is that we have to use an ancient way for simple things like finding the path.

• Alliteration – As for our leisure time, we’ve created a culture where we’re still ‘working’ while playing. Sometimes it is used for connecting several ideas, but it makes expression easier to memorize and draws more attention to the part.

• All the metaphors and alliterations are used to make the article more memorable and easy to read.

• The tone is persuasive (“It did me wonders”)

• Everyday vocabulary is used, Shabbat is explained, and there is no technical terminology or jargon.