THE INFLUENCE OF SOCIAL MEDIA

Instructions:
1) Write the meaning of the underlined vocabulary 1 - 46 in the boxes below.
2) Underline the correct form of verb for questions a - cii

In today’s world, almost everyone a) [has / have] a social media account. Most of us
b) [is / are] active on more than one type of social media, for example Facebook, Twitter,
Snapchat and Instagram. However, what many people don’t know c) [is / are] social media
is like an (1) addictive drug. (2) Similarly, the effects of social media on people can be seen
both physically and mentally. Its influence can be positive if used in small (3) doses, and
negative when we become (4) obsessed. Since today’s youth d) [become / becomes] more
and more involved in their social media accounts, it is important for us to understand the
influence social media e) [has / have] on the (5) wellbeing of the younger generation.

Now let us f) [looks / look] at the (6) pros of using social media. Firstly, social media
is useful in helping us to make friends and (7) maintain relationships. We can connect with
people from all around the world with just a click of a button. It also g) [helps / help] us to (8)
strengthen (9) existing bonds or find old friends we h) [has / have] lost contact with. If you
are hoping to find a friend from another country, it is (10) extremely easy to do so on social
media. By reading and commenting on other people’s posts, you can keep updated with what
your friends and family members are doing, even if they i) [is / are] far away in another
country. This makes social media a (11) preferred choice of (12) interaction by teenagers.

Secondly, another benefit of social media j) [is / are] we can get to know the latest
(13) trends and news. The (14) swiftness of the internet k) [has / have] (15) enabled us to
collect and (16) spread information in (17) a matter of seconds. People l) [does / do] not need
to read newspapers or watch the 8 o’ clock news anymore as we now have digital newspapers
and groups on social media. Nowadays, the word “viral” m) [is / are] also widely used to
describe an issue that becomes (18) explosively popular. These “viral news” will then become
(19) the talk of the town when it is shared and reposted many n) [time / times] by the public.

Thirdly, social media is a useful tool for us to learn about other people’s opinions. In
today’s modern era, everyone o) [is / are] free to post whatever comments or thoughts they
p) [has / have] on the internet. Some of these opinions are very (20) wise and (21) insightful.
We can learn about many sides of an issue when we q) [reads / read] about such posts on
social media. At the same time, social media (22) allows us to communicate with other people
so that we can exchange ideas with them. This r) [helps / help] us to (23) broaden our mind
set and s) [gives / give] us a better understanding of our society.

Written by: Leong Qing Yi (SMK Baling) 2018

 Next, we shall move on to the cons of social media. Because social media is so
interesting, many people often t) [wastes / waste] a lot of time on it. For some teenagers, they
can easily spend more than five u) [hour / hours] a day just chatting or (24) scrolling through
their Facebook (25) newsfeed even if there is nothing new to read about. It is also (26)
distracting as we often v) [stop / stops] in the middle of work just to check our social media
accounts. These (27) disturbances affect our focus and cause our (28) production levels to
drop. As a result, we end up spending more time on social media than working. Spending too
much time on social media and gadgets can also w) [cause / causes] health problems such
as carpal tunnel syndrome, neck pain and (29) impaired (30) vision.

Moreover, social media can be addictive. For example, there are many ‘web idols’ or
‘Insta-famous’ celebrities who x) [becomes / become] extremely popular through their social
media posts. This creates a (31) phenomenon where people post obsessively on social media
just to (32) seek attention or ‘likes’. This is unhealthy behaviour which can result in teenagers
doing more and more (33) ridiculous (34) stunts on the internet just to become popular.
Sometimes this behaviour y) [has / have] negative (35) consequences like death, serious
injury or (36) violations of law.

Lastly, social media can (37) cause us to lose (38) self-confidence. On social media,
people (39) tend to post happy events, holidays and pictures which z) [shows / show] them
having fun or enjoying themselves in the best way possible. This creates an image that life for
them is perfect. When we see these posts, this can make us feel bad when we think about
why our lives aii) [is / are] not as good as the people around us. In (40) extreme cases, these
negative feelings can even (41) lead to (42) depression. However, it is important to remember
that everyone has their own problems. Just because we cannot see them on social media
does not mean that these problems bii) [does / do] not exist. Remember, there is always
another side to things.

In a nutshell, social media is a (43) double-edged sword. Whether or not it is (44)

beneficial depends on how we use it in our daily life. As rational human beings, we should not
allow social media to control our lives. Instead, if we cii) [learns / learn] to use it in (45)
moderation, we can still enjoy its benefits and live in a more (46) fulfilled way without the
negative influence of social media.

Written by: Leong Qing Yi (SMK Baling) 2018

 DEFINITIONS
PARAGRAPH 1

1. addictive

2. Similarly

3. doses

4. obsessed

5. wellbeing

PARAGRAPH 2

6. pros

7. maintain

8. strengthen

9. existing

10. extremely

11. preferred

12. interaction

Written by: Leong Qing Yi (SMK Baling) 2018

 PARAGRAPH 3

13. trends

14. swiftness

15. enabled

16. spread

17. a matter of

seconds

18. explosively

19. the talk of the

town

PARAGRAPH 4

20. wise

21. insightful

22. allows

23. broaden

Written by: Leong Qing Yi (SMK Baling) 2018

 PARAGRAPH 5

24. scrolling

25. newsfeed

26. distracting

27. disturbances

28. production

29. impaired

30. vision

PARAGRAPH 6

31. phenomenon

32. seek

33. ridiculous

34. stunts

35. consequences

36. violations

Written by: Leong Qing Yi (SMK Baling) 2018

 PARAGRAPH 7

37. cause

38. self-confidence

39. tend

40. extreme

41. lead

42. depression

PARAGRAPH 8

43. double-edged

sword

44. beneficial

45. moderation

46. fulfilled

Written by: Leong Qing Yi (SMK Baling) 2018