Every week we will post a new discussion question or topic. Students, please write a comment based on the topic below. If you make a mistake in grammar or vocabulary, we will give you free feedback on how to correct your error. (Note: each student is limited to one correction).
The Topic: Social Media and Health
Background: Netflix released a documentary called The Social Dilemma this year which criticizes social media for its negative effect on health and democracy. (Teachers, see related lesson plans).
Task: Read the statistics and quotations below. Which idea is most surprising? Which have you experienced personally? Which is the biggest problem? Pick one idea and write a comment on it below.
- Teens use entertainment screen media for an average of nearly 7.5 hours a day — not including the time they spend using screens for school or homework. [Common Sense Media, 2019]
- A third of American adults — and nearly half of those ages 18-29 — say they are online “almost constantly.” [Pew Research Center, 2019]
- A 5,000 person study found that higher social media use correlated with self-reported declines in mental and physical health and life satisfaction. [American Journal of Epidemiology, February 2017]
- 80% of students mistake “sponsored content” ads for legitimate news. [NPR, Stanford, 2016]
- 17% of Americans believe personalized ads are ethical. [RSA Data Privacy & Security Survey: 2019]
- “You look over at the other [political] side, and you start to think, `How can those people be so stupid? Look at all of this information that I'm constantly seeing. How are they not seeing that same information?' And the answer is: they are not seeing that same information.” — Film Subject Justin Rosenstein -- Do you think it's important for everyone to have the same set of facts? Do you follow people and sources you disagree with? Why or why not?
[Source: The Social Dilemma Discussion Guide]
For more practice with English, please visit our English Practice forum here.
-- Created by Matthew Barton (copyright) of Englishcurrent.com