Negative Effects of Social Media

Julie Nelkin

Intermediate School 230Q

Introduction

The role of social media continues to grow exponentially in our daily lives. With nearly unlimited access to social media for youth, the question of its impact continues to surface. Is the increased use of social media responsible for the increase in cyberbullying, mental health crises, and physical health complications like obesity among youth? Or does social media offer a platform for users to connect to a community and find an outlet for self-expression?

You have been asked to join the principal’s committee to evaluate social media usage and its impact on our school community. As young adults with proximity to both the benefits and detriments of social media, you will be responsible for critically evaluating the role of social media on youth and presenting your findings to the school’s administration.

Process

Task

As a part of the principal’s committee, you will work collaboratively with your team to delve into the analysis of social media. You will be responsible for writing an extended constructed response, in which you take a position on the issue of social media and support that claim with research-based evidence. To work towards this, we will analyze social media through the following steps of the PPA:

Step 1: Define the Problem

Build on background knowledge

As we begin to explore the issue of social media usage among youth, we will begin first with our own experiences with and perspective on social media. Though our personal experiences will not alone be sufficient to take a position, it is a starting point to understanding the complex problem. We will begin with a free write in which you can detail your experience and relationship with social media. Consider including:

● the age you began using social media,

● the type of parental involvement and supervision,

● the amount of time you spend on social media platforms,

● the appeal of social media (why do you continue to use it),

● the ways that social media has been personally helpful or hurtful.

Step 2: Gather Evidence of the Problem

Gather evidence from peers

To launch our investigation, we will conduct a survey of our peers to gain insight of their perceptions of social media. Since this issue directly impacts youth, surveying our peers will allow us to pull data directly from the people most closely impacted. Similar to our free writing, this process will invite our peers to share their impressions of social media. This process will include creating questions and inputting them into a Google Form so that we can evaluate the data.

Step 3: Identify the Causes of the Problem

Gather evidence from experts

With your group, jigsaw the following texts presenting an argument about social media. Each group member will become an expert on one text and report back to their group the findings.

● Text 1: Issue Overview: Are social networking sites good for our society?

● Text 2: Negative, positive effects of excessive social media use on teens studied

● Text 3: Parents may fret, but even experts say social media use has its benefits

● Text 4: Gen Z teens find acceptance online

● Text 5: Teen suicide rates rising, study says social media use could be a factor

Step 4: Evaluate Existing Policies

Evaluate the evidence

When it comes to a complex issue like social media, it is important that we use the strongest evidence to back up our claim. Not all evidence is created equal. Compare the findings from the articles presented in the previous step and with your group, evaluate which evidence is most compelling and why.

Step 5: Develop Public Policy Solutions

Construct a claim

Collaboratively, construct a claim conveying your stance on social media. This will be the claim that you communicate to the principal’s committee. This step is critical in the communication of your position. Your claim should be clear and strong.

Step 6: Select the Best Public Policy Solution

Present your findings in an extended constructed response

You will develop your claim in the form of an extended constructed response, in which you will present your claim and supporting evidence. Writing in this structure will allow you to objectively and formally integrate the evidence collected from both your peers and experts in support of your claim to present the strongest solution to the principal’s committee.

Resources

Below are some resources that may be useful as you work through the process of analyzing the impact of social media and presenting your findings.

Learning how to create a Google Form:

● Video Tutorial 1: How to Create a Google Form

● Video Tutorial 2: How to Create a Google Form

Understanding the rising role of social media:

● Text 1: The global rise of social media and the changed world

Evaluation

Conclusion

Throughout our unit of study, we delved into the complex issue of the impact of social media. We have created an extended constructed response that encompassed:

● Tapping into our own experience and relationship with social media,

● Gathering evidence from our peers and from experts to broaden our understanding of the impact of social media usage among youth,

● Evaluating evidence to determine which evidence is strongest,

● Constructing a claim to take a clear stance on the topic of social media.

Standards

8W1: Write arguments to support claims with clear reasons and relevant evidence.

● 8W1a: Introduce a precise claim, acknowledge and distinguish the claim(s) from a counterclaim, and organize the reasons and evidence logically.

● 8W1b: Support claim(s) with logical reasoning and relevant evidence, using credible sources while demonstrating an understanding of the topic or text.

● 8W1c: Use precise language and content-specific vocabulary to argue a claim.

● 8W1d: Use appropriate and varied transitions to create cohesion and clarify the relationships among ideas and concepts.

● 8W1e: Provide a concluding statement or section that explains the significance of the argument presented.

● 8W1f: Maintain a style and tone appropriate to the writing task.