The Reading / Listening - Social Media - Level 2

Social media has changed the world, for good and for bad. The USA's top doctor said one bad thing is it can cause mental health problems. Dr Vivek Murthy wants social media companies to put mental health warnings on their sites. He is worried about the harm social media does to young people. He said youngsters see too much extreme sexual and violent content. Murthy said: "It is time to require a…warning label…stating that social media is associated with significant mental health harms for adolescents." He said laws were also needed to keep young people safe online.

Dr Murthy has wanted tighter controls of social media for many years. In 2023, he warned that social media could harm the mental health of children. His recent warning is published in The New York Times. He wrote: "The mental health crisis among young people is an emergency. Social media has emerged as an important contributor." He also said young people spend too long online. He warned that teenagers "who spend more than three hours a day on social media face double the risk of anxiety and depression symptoms".

Try the same news story at these levels:

    Social Media - Level 0 Social Media - Level 1   or  Social Media - Level 3

Sources
  • https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/us-surgeon-general-calls-social-media-platforms-display-mental-health-warnings
  • https://www.theverge.com/2024/6/17/24180005/surgeon-general-warning-labels-social-media-mental-health
  • https://apnews.com/article/surgeon-general-social-media-mental-health-df321c791493863001754401676f165c


Make sure you try all of the online activities for this reading and listening - There are dictations, multiple choice activities, drag and drop activities, sentence jumbles, which word activities, text reconstructions, spelling, gap fills and a whole lot more. Please enjoy :-)

Phrase Matching

Paragraph 1

  1. Social media
  2. for good
  3. it can cause mental health
  4. put mental health warnings
  5. the harm social media does
  6. youngsters see too
  7. extreme sexual and
  8. keep young people
  1. violent content
  2. on their sites
  3. has changed the world
  4. much
  5. problems
  6. to young people
  7. safe online
  8. and for bad

Paragraph 2

  1. tighter
  2. harm the mental health
  3. mental health crisis
  4. Social media has
  5. an important
  6. spend more than three hours
  7. double
  8. anxiety and depression
  1. among young people
  2. the risk
  3. symptoms
  4. contributor
  5. controls of social media
  6. of children
  7. a day
  8. emerged

Listening — Listen and fill in the gaps

Social (1) ___________________ the world, for good and for bad. The USA's top doctor said one bad thing is it (2) ___________________ health problems. Dr Vivek Murthy wants social media companies to put mental health warnings on their sites. He is worried (3) ___________________ social media does to young people. He said youngsters see (4) ___________________ sexual and violent content. Murthy said: "It is time to require a…warning label…stating that social media (5) ___________________ significant mental health harms for adolescents." He said laws were also needed to keep young (6) ___________________.

Dr Murthy has (7) ___________________ of social media for many years. In 2023, he warned that social media could harm the mental health of children. His (8) ___________________ published in The New York Times. He wrote: "The mental health crisis among young people (9) ___________________. Social media has emerged as an important contributor." He also said young people (10) ___________________ online. He warned that teenagers "who spend more than three hours (11) ___________________ social media face double the (12) ___________________ and depression symptoms".

Put a slash (/) where the spaces are

Socialmediahaschangedtheworld,forgoodandforbad.TheUSA'stopd
octorsaidonebadthingisitcancausementalhealthproblems.DrVivekM
urthywantssocialmediacompaniestoputmentalhealthwarningsonth
eirsites.Heisworriedabouttheharmsocialmediadoestoyoungpeople.
Hesaidyoungstersseetoomuchextremesexualandviolentcontent.Mu
rthysaid:"Itistimetorequirea…warninglabel…statingthatsocialmedia
isassociatedwithsignificantmentalhealthharmsforadolescents."Hes
aidlawswerealsoneededtokeepyoungpeoplesafeonline.DrMurthyha
swantedtightercontrolsofsocialmediaformanyyears.In2023,hewarn
edthatsocialmediacouldharmthementalhealthofchildren.Hisrecent
warningispublishedinTheNewYorkTimes.Hewrote:"Thementalhealt
hcrisisamongyoungpeopleisanemergency.Socialmediahasemerged
asanimportantcontributor."Healsosaidyoungpeoplespendtoolongon
line.Hewarnedthatteenagers"whospendmorethanthreehoursadayo
nsocialmediafacedoubletheriskofanxietyanddepressionsymptoms".

Student survey

Write five GOOD questions about this topic in the table. Do this in pairs. Each student must write the questions on his / her own paper. When you have finished, interview other students. Write down their answers.

(Please look at page 12 of the PDF to see a photocopiable example of this activity.)

Discussion — Write your own questions

STUDENT A’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student B)

(a) ________________

(b) ________________

(c) ________________

(d) ________________

(e) ________________

(f) ________________

(g) ________________

(h) ________________

STUDENT B’s QUESTIONS (Do not show these to student A)

(i) ________________

(j) ________________

(k) ________________

(l) ________________

(m) ________________

(n) ________________

(o) ________________

(p) ________________

Free writing

Write about this topic for 10 minutes. Comment on your partner’s paper.

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Answers

(Please check your answers against the article above.

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