A Rhetorical Analysis Of The Tethered Generation By Kathryn Tyler

“The Tethered Generation”, published in May 2007, Kathryn Tyler declares a firm opinion on the millennial generation’s attachment to technology, criticizing the development of this new generation and their impact on the workforce. Her target audience are employers with means of hiring this young “underdeveloped” crowd. This article is also towards the audience of Human Resource professionals. Tyler’s article displays structure with distinct pathways guiding her argument to the reader. Her audience is also clearly defined, as she focuses her rhetorical choices towards human resource specialists with instructions regarding the implementation of the millennial generation into the workforce. Kathryn Tyler’s “The Tethered Generation” opens with a short narrative providing an example and parallel to her initial claim: an example of
From a neutral perspective, the author possesses a definitive purpose but elicits wild generalizations upon the entire millennial generation, ultimately detracting authenticity and credibility as the author’s voice leaks into the article. Tyler is clearly well-versed in the subject and openly expresses her opinions as fact throughout her work; she smartly refrains from speaking in the first person, but with the inclusion of her opinions, she might as well use “I” in every argument. She begins the article with the inclusion that millennials have underdeveloped brains, are hopelessly reliant upon technology, and possess a cloud of over-attached parents. She assumes that this particular generation will wreak negative impacts on the workforce as she braces employers for the impending intrusion. For example, she opens her argument with youths’ inferiority. “Older generations that couldn’t wait to proclaim their independence can’t comprehend this generation’s need for parental guidance and influence” . The choice of small rhetorical choices ultimately guides the reader