Listening

Warm Up

Helpful Words and Phrases

Listen and repeat.

  1. constantly
    • ex. Jude constantly practices speaking English to improve his language skills.
  2. usage
    • ex. The teacher explained the correct usage of the new vocabulary words.
  3. draw in
    • ex. The owner gives free items to draw in customers to her shop.
  4. retain
    • ex. It is important to put fruits in the refrigerator to retain their good condition.
  5. addicted
    • ex. He is addicted to playing video games and spends hours in front of the computer.

Article

Read the article below and answer your tutor's questions.

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About one in six American teens, aged 13 to 17, said that they use YouTube and TikTok “almost constantly.” YouTube is still the most popular site among teens, with 71% saying that they use it at least daily. TikTok, Snapchat, and Instagram are also part of the list of popular sites. This information comes from a survey by the Pew Research Institute.

Three of those four sites showed a drop in usage over the past year. The survey also reports that Facebook’s total teen usage has dropped from 71% to 33% in 2023. And only 3% use it almost constantly. According to the survey, teen usage of social media hasn’t decreased much. However, there are concerns about the negative impact of social media on their mental health.

More and more social media sites are being criticized for using techniques that draw in and retain younger users. In October, 33 states complained about Meta for adding to the youth mental health crisis. The states said that the company designed sites, such as Facebook and Instagram, to make younger users addicted to them. But Meta has denied the claims.

This material was based on an article by The Associated Press.

Discussion

Choose a topic and discuss the questions with your tutor.

Teen Usage of Social Media

  • American teenagers say that they use YouTube and TikTok “almost constantly.” Do you think that social media usage is a good thing or a bad thing? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • Why do you think teenagers are attracted to social media (ex. it is fun, it connects them to their friends)? Discuss.
  • What tips would you like to give teenagers about their social media usage (ex. limit your usage to 1 hour, protect your privacy)? Discuss.

Impact of Social Media

  • In your opinion, does social media have a good or bad impact on you? Why? Discuss.
  • Do you think it's okay to constantly use social media? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • How would you describe a person addicted to social media sites (ex. they always talk about social media content, they don’t have other activities aside from social media)? Discuss.