The Instagram page, Humans of New York, brings out a new side of the world for everyone to see. Brandon Stanton, the man behind the page, goes around New York City, as well as other places, and shares stories of the people. He takes their photo, usually their face, and quotes what they said and directly posts that to Instagram with no further explanation, just letting the reader interpret the story how they wish. Stanton does not showcase himself at all, putting all the spotlight on the person telling the story, which is rather unusual for an accredited user who has over seven million followers. His audience is anyone who can access his page, however some of the stories are for adult audiences due to the content in some of the posts. The purpose of his posting has to do with storytelling and generally raising awareness about others and our world. Stanton is staying out of the spotlight for a reason. This puts the reader into a different perspective when looking at the post, making them want to read the post because they know that each post will be a new story that peaks interest.He is touching heavily on pathos by sharing heart clenching stories that touch on multiple subjects, which draws readers back and to also follow the account. All of the pathos Stanton reveals allows the reader to sympathize with the person who is being featured and helps them realize that they may not be the only one dealing and going through hard things. These posts can also humble a person and allow them to stop and think differently about how they are living their life and lead them to do a service and help others because they may have it much worse than they do. Specifically, a post from January 6th, 2018 features a young woman holding a photo of her mother sharing how her mother died of cancer when she was two years old. She would, “leave for entire weekends without my dad even asking where (she had) been.” This blunt language is strong and impactful and gets the point across as a serious story and that this young woman has been going through a lot her entire life. On a lighter note, Stanton has recently been in Bangladesh furthering his storytelling. One of his posts is about a young boy that says, “invention is (his) hobby.” He furthermore discusses that different things he has invented. This diction and syntax is directly from the storyteller, which provides a raw feeling to the reader, that there has been no editing done, that this is the real person speaking and this is the true story. However, the down side to this page is that I do not see much ethos or logos. Who knows if Brandon Stanton is posting exactly what these people say? I think it is very unlikely that he making up stories, but it is not impossible. Since the account has now turned into a book and this page has gone viral, I think it is safe to say that Stanton is telling the truth. The Humans of New York page continues to inspire and move all of its followers in many different ways, whether it is through an uplifting and hopeful story or thought a deep, dark and sorrowful story. They overall inspire us to be better people and help the others who are not as fortunate as we are.
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