Persuasion in "The Social Network"

For this blog post for my COMM class on persuasion, I chose to analyze The Social Network (2010), directed by David Fincher. The film is all about the creation of Facebook and the messy relationships that surrounded its rise, but underneath all that drama is a web of persuasive communication — some ethical, some not so much. I wanted to look at how persuasion functions in this movie through power, credibility, and manipulation. Using theories from Gass and Seiter’s Persuasion: Social Influence and Compliance Gaining (2022), I found that this film is basically a case study in how persuasion can shape not just decisions, but entire empires.

Credibility: Competence Over Character

According to Gass and Seiter (2022), credibility is one of the most important elements in persuasion and is often broken down into three key components: expertise, trustworthiness, and goodwill (p. 83). In The Social Network, Mark Zuckerberg’s (Jesse Eisenberg) power to persuade others comes almost entirely from his expertise. He’s clearly intelligent and innovative, which makes people trust his technical skill — even when they shouldn’t necessarily trust him as a person.

When Mark persuades his classmates, programmers, or investors to get involved in Facebook, he doesn’t appeal to emotions or morals. He sells logic, results, and vision. That’s why his credibility is high in the competence dimension but pretty low in goodwill and trustworthiness. This imbalance is what makes him persuasive yet dangerous. Gass and Seiter (2022) explain that when audiences view someone as highly competent but not particularly kind or moral, they can still be persuaded — especially in professional or achievement-oriented settings (p. 90).

Sean Parker (Justin Timberlake), on the other hand, uses credibility differently. His ethos comes from what Gass and Seiter call social proof — people assume his opinions matter because he’s already associated with success (p. 145). Everyone knows he co-founded Napster, so his reputation alone makes him persuasive, even when he’s unreliable. It’s a reminder that perceived success often substitutes for actual credibility in persuasive contexts.

ELM: Central vs. Peripheral Processing in Tech Persuasion

The Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM) is another concept from Gass and Seiter that helps explain persuasion in this movie. The theory says that people process persuasive messages through either the central route (careful thought, logic, evidence) or the peripheral route (surface-level cues like attractiveness or charisma) (Gass & Seiter, 2022, p. 140).

Mark uses the central route in his persuasion. He focuses on data, logic, and practicality when pitching Facebook — things that appeal to people willing to think deeply about the message. For example, when he describes Facebook’s expansion strategy, he lists out the coding logic and potential user data. That’s persuasive to investors who want evidence and reason.

Sean Parker, though, relies on peripheral processing. His arguments are flashy, emotional, and confident. He doesn’t provide data; he tells stories and paints a vision. His persuasion depends more on how he says things than what he says. This fits perfectly with Gass and Seiter’s point that peripheral route persuasion relies on “mental shortcuts,” such as authority, appearance, and confidence (2022, p. 142).

Watching this film made me realize how often modern persuasion—especially in tech and social media—leans on the peripheral route. We’re constantly influenced by people’s confidence and status instead of real logic or evidence. It’s honestly kind of scary how effective that still is.

Traits and Characteristics: Gender, Class, and Power

Gass and Seiter (2022) also emphasize that individual traits and characteristics can affect persuasion, like gender, age, and socioeconomic status (p. 119). In The Social Network, these characteristics strongly influence who gets to persuade and who doesn’t.

The film’s gender imbalance is hard to ignore. Most persuasive interactions are between men, while women appear mostly in supporting roles. Gass and Seiter talk about how societal expectations often shape persuasive power, with men seen as more “authoritative” and women judged more on warmth or likability (2022, p. 121). That’s exactly what happens here — the persuasive voices are overwhelmingly male, reflecting tech culture’s gender bias.

Class also plays a huge role. The Winklevoss twins use authority-based persuasion—they expect to be respected because of their wealth and Harvard status. Mark, however, represents persuasion through innovation and intelligence. Gass and Seiter (2022) note that social status and perceived similarity influence credibility judgments (p. 87). Because Mark doesn’t fit the “elite” mold, people underestimate him — until his technical skill proves more persuasive than the twins’ privilege. This dynamic shows how class can alter persuasive strategies: one group uses entitlement, the other relies on expertise.

Reflection: What I Learned About Persuasion

Analyzing The Social Network through Gass and Seiter’s theories made me realize that persuasion isn’t just about communication — it’s about identity, power, and perception. The film shows how credibility can be manipulated, how peripheral cues can outshine logic, and how characteristics like gender and class still determine who gets to be persuasive in the first place.

Gass and Seiter (2022) write that persuasion is a “ubiquitous and necessary part of everyday life,” but it’s also a tool that can be misused (p. 5). After watching this film, I see that persuasive success doesn’t always mean ethical success. Moving forward, I want to be more aware of when I’m being influenced by image or emotion instead of reason — especially online, where peripheral persuasion is everywhere.

In short, The Social Network isn’t just a movie about Facebook; it’s a warning about persuasion itself. It reminds me to question not only what’s being said, but who is saying it and why I find them convincing.

References

Gass, R. H., & Seiter, J. S. (2022). Persuasion: Social Influence and Compliance Gaining (7th ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Fincher, D. (Director). (2010). The Social Network [Film]. Columbia Pictures.