M1S1-S3 – Should parents restrict the use of social media for children?

Author

ITC – Begoña Arenas

Mini Project ID

ITCMP01

Description

We are presenting a text and are asking to identify the key issue and the conclusion and find out if there are ambiguities in a text.

Sector

Adult education (CPD)

Data

TEXT proposed:

Social media has been growing in popularity since its beginnings in the early 2000s. With this rise in popularity comes more social media use by children and teenagers. Studies have shown that heavy social media use can lead to less studying and lower grades. Social media use has also been associated with disorders such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and addictive behaviors, and can also put children at risk for depression, low self-esteem, and eating disorders. Also, social media causes schoolchildren to spend less time interacting with others face-to-face. This lack of personal interaction leads to stunted development of communication and interpersonal skills vital to a young person’s future success. The lack of face-to-face communication has also been connected to the rise of cyberbullying, bringing with it a new set of problems. Criminals can also use social media to prey on unsuspecting young people. These problems could be mostly avoided if children had less access to social media. Parents should take the initiative to restrict their children’s use of social media sites.

Model

We are asking our students to respond to 2 questions:

1. What is the key issue of the text? To find the key issue we will propose them to analyse sentence by sentence what the text includes to sort out the type of question and issue (descriptive or prescriptive) addressed in the text.
2. Are there ambiguities in the text?
   To find out if there are ambiguities, we propose to follow 3 steps:
   1. identify crucial terms and phrases, that is, the conclusion and the reasons for that conclusion
   2. Does the author provide a definition of the key issue?
   3. Are there abstract words and phrases in the conclusion?

Calculation

In the first two sentences, the author claims that social media has been growing more popular, particularly among children and teenagers.

The author then begins to give examples and evidence showing that social media use can harm young people. Next, the author claims that the examples of harm she listed above can be mostly avoided if children had less access to social media. The author finishes the passage by stating that parents should restrict their children’s use of social media.

One strategy you can use is to ask the question, “Which statement does this evidence seek to support?” as this statement is very likely to be the issue. We can apply this question by linking our potential conclusions with the evidence by using the question, “Why?:

Let’s try using this strategy with a simplified version of the opening statements. “Social media has been becoming more popular among young people.” Why? “Because social media use can cause harm to young people.” This conclusion doesn’t seem to fit the evidence. In fact, the opening statements would be considered background information in this situation.

How about the closing statement? “Parents should restrict their children’s use of social media.” Why? “Because social media use can cause harm to young people.” The evidence supports the final statement of the passage. Also, look at the second-to-last statement. It also supports the final statement. The author claims that the harm children face due to social media could be avoided if children had less access to social media. If parents were to restrict their children’s use of social media, they would avoid the problems social media brings. Therefore, parents should restrict their children’s use of social media. The statements in the passage all support the final statement in some way.