The Rhetoric of the Shadow Text

Parfitt draws on the work of Shoshana Zuboff to explore how platforms like Google, Facebook, and TikTok create two distinct “texts”: a public-facing text that consists of personalized content that has been curated for users, and a second “shadow text,” that remains invisible, though it reveals itself obliquely. This shadow text incorporates a wide range of data about users’ identities, behavioral patterns, interests, and preferences; it serves corporate interests by optimizing targeted advertisements and driving user engagement, all the while remaining inaccessible and unregulated. Parfitt argues that while the public-facing text can be analyzed through traditional rhetorical criticism, the shadow text demands a new kind of rhetorical analysis, one that interprets its indirect, hidden influence on behavior and decision-making. By encouraging users to engage with platforms for extended periods, the shadow text not only drives consumerism but also reshapes social, political, and even personal identity. Parfitt argues for a deeper rhetorical investigation of these forces, which shape our social and political discourse in powerful but often overlooked ways.