Lloyd Bitzer once stated in his writing The Rhetorical Situation that rhetorical situation is " complex of persons, events, objects, and relations presenting an actual or potential exigence which can be completely or partially removed if discourse, introduced into the situation, can so constrain human decision or action as to bring about the significant modification of the exigence." (Bitzer)   In other words, a rhetorical situation is a situation in  one or multiple people  a problem or issue by creating positive change that will prevent the problem or issue from becoming stronger, more complicated, or occurring in the future.  There are three parts that make up a rhetorical situation.  The exigence or issue, the audience, and the constraints or limitations that are present in the situation.  The essay "Hooked on Technology, And Paying a Price"Richtel, 152, contains these three aspects and is therefore considered a rhetorical situation.  In this essay, a man named Mr. Campbell and his family become so reliant on, obsessed and addicted to technology that they begin to lose themselves.  The begin   time surfing the web and playing games they start ignor each other as if they were alone.   eventually become absorbed with technology that it distracts them causThe Campbells must find a way to unplug themselves so that they can pay attention, spend time with each other, socialize and focus on other, more important, tasks.  

The first aspect a situation must contain in order to be considered rhetorical is exigenceExigence is the issue in the situation that a person or multiple people must attempt to prevent in the future by making a positive modification.  The Issue in the Campbell's situation was clearly stated and revealed throughout the essay.  Family embers had become so addicted to the use of electronic components that they felt a constant pull from .  Mr. Campbell often fell asleep with a laptop or phone on his chest and in the morning  nternet.  They could not stop using technologyInstead of spending time interacting and talking with each other, the family began surfing the web, going on Facebook, listening to music or playing video games.Computers began Richtel the ability forto focus on other tasks greatly decreased as electronic use increased.  dragged away from other tasks that had to be done.  The Campbell's son was so caught up playing video games and texting his girlfriend that he stopped doing homework and his grades dropped to a C.  Mr. Campbell overlooked important emails and could not focus on work because he saw something on witter that he .  Mrs. Campbell, began using Facebook and talking to people onlineSheburned two batches of cookies forgthey were in the oven.  were being consumed by technology and they had to find a way to escape the attraction, spend time with each other, and complete considerable burdens.

A situation must also contain an audience in order to be considered rhetorical.  The audience of  rhetorical situation is the person or persons in the situation who are being by the issue and who attempt to create a positive modification in their lives to prevent that issue from .  In Richtel's essay, the Campbells are the audience.  Each family member has trouble detaching from their devices to spend time with each other.  In an attempt to prevent electronic devices from further affecting their livesthe family comes up with multiple solution options.  The first thing Mr. and Mrs. Campbell do is limit the amount of time day their son and daughter are allowed to use technologcreateStudy time allows the family to talk, socialize and together.  It also gives each family member time to complete homework and other responsibilities without feeling the need to use electronics.  Mr. and Mrs. Campbell are attempting to teach their kids how to balance technology and .  A second thing Mrs. Campbell does is schedule a vacation for the family to get away.  At first the attempt does not workthe family spends the first day in the hotel room playing with their laptops and iPods, but after a few days and a discussion between Mr. and Mrs. Campbell the whole family eventually puts their toys down.  They go to the beach send time with each other and relax.  It takes time for the family to disconnectthey all modif their lives so that they could prevent the issue from their lives.

The third and final aspect a situation must contain to be considered rhetorical is constraints.  The constraints are the elements that create the issue and make difficult to resolvehey are limitations that may prevent .  Multiple constraints exist in the Campbells situation.  The first constraint Mr. Campbell experiences is that his demands the use of electronics.  He is a computer programmer and is on the verge of propelling his business to a level it has never reached before.  e must stay in constant contact with employees, developers, and business partnersInternetOf course and social networks that create a pulitA second constraint is the joy and excitement electronics bring.  The Campbells enjoy using computers to listen to music, play games, and talk to peopledetach.  Why would a person stop doing something that excites and that enjoy?  Other constraints include the want to discover, learn, and find out about new information, and the want to stay in contact with relatives and friends.  The Internet allows a person to pull up and use many webpages and sources at the same timegiving them an easier more fun way to stay in contact and discover new information.   constraints in the Campbells situation create difficulty and limit how quickly and easily they can resolve their issue.

A situation can be considered rhetorical if, and only if; it contains the three constituents Bitzer proclaimed defined a rhetorical situationexigence, audience, and constraint.  The Campbells situation contains these three aspects and therefore is considered rhetorical.  Richtel provides multiple detailed examples, information, and explanation to prove this as true.  He uses facts to support his details and explanation in his essay and clearly distinguishes each aspect of a rhetorical situation.  The essay is organized in such a way that the reader can easily pinpoint the exigence or issue, the audience and the constraints that make up the situation.  For these reasons, one can deem The Campbells situation rhetorical.
