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Social media 'destroying how society works'

Social Media - Level 0

An ex-Facebook boss said social media is harming our society. His job was to get more Facebook users. He feels bad about this. Twenty years ago, people talked to each other. Today, they message and don't talk. People worry too much about what others think. They get sad if people don't like the photos they post.

The man wants people to take a break from social media. He wants people to like each other instead of liking online "likes". Fake news is changing the world. A lot of "news" is untrue. People post lies about other people. This is a global problem. The man banned his children from social media. But, he said Facebook was good.

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Social Media - Level 1

An ex-Facebook boss has said social media is harmful to our society. Chamath Palihapitiya's job was to increase Facebook's users. He feels bad about getting more people to use social media. He said it is destroying society. Twenty years ago, people talked to each other. Today, they message instead of talk. People worry too much about what others think. They post photos and want everyone to like the photo. They get sad if people do not like it.

Mr Palihapitiya wants people to take a break from social media to live real life. He wants people to like each other instead of liking online "likes". Palihapitiya says fake news is affecting how we see the world. A lot of "news" is untrue. Also, people can post lies about other people. Palihapitiya said this was a global problem. He has banned his children from using social media. He said Facebook is not all bad and that it, "overwhelmingly does good in the world".

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Social Media - Level 2

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An ex-Facebook boss has said social media is very harmful to our society. Chamath Palihapitiya joined Facebook in 2007. He was responsible for increasing Facebook's users. He is now very guilty about getting more people to use social media. He said the networks are destroying society. Twenty years ago, people talked to each other. Today, people message each other and do not talk. People worry too much about what others think of them. They post photos and wait to see how many people like the photo. They get sad if people do not like the photo.

Mr Palihapitiya said people should take a break from social media to experience real life. He wants people to value each other instead of valuing online "likes, and thumbs-up". Palihapitiya says fake news is affecting how we see the world. Large websites spread lies. It is also becoming easier to hurt other people online. Anyone can post lies about other people. Palihapitiya said this was a global problem. He has banned his children from using social media. However, he did say that Facebook was a good company. He said: "It's not all bad. Facebook overwhelmingly does good in the world."

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11 online activities    |    8-page printable   (PDF)

Social Media - Level 3

A former Facebook executive has said social media is doing great harm to society around the world. The executive is a man called Chamath Palihapitiya. He joined Facebook in 2007 and became a vice president. He was responsible for increasing the number of users Facebook had. Mr Palihapitiya said he feels very guilty about getting more people to use social networks. He said the networks are destroying society because they are changing people's behavior. Twenty years ago, people talked to each other face to face. Today, people message each other and do not talk. People also really care about what other people think of them. They post photos and wait to see how many people like the photo. They get very sad if people do not like the photo.

Mr Palihapitiya said people should take a long break from social media so they can experience real life. He wants people to value each other instead of valuing online "hearts, likes, and thumbs-up". Palihapitiya also points out how fake news is affecting how we see the world. It is becoming easier for large websites to spread lies. It is also becoming easier to hurt other people online. Anyone can hide behind a fake user name and post lies about other people. Palihapitiya said this was a global problem. He is worried about social media so much that he has banned his children from using it. However, he did state that Facebook was a good company. He said: "Of course, it's not all bad. Facebook overwhelmingly does good in the world."

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