Reading: Unsocial Media

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

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

Sources:

Mashable / The Guardian / The verge

Task:

Read the text above, reflect, access the Scrumblr link your teacher will send you and answer:

• Do you have a Facebook account? Why/Why not? What about other social media? Which is the one you use the most?
• How many hours a day (approximately) do you spend online?
• Do you agree with the author when he says “Social media is destroying society”. Why/Why not?
• Considering other social media such as Instagram, Tik Tok and Twitter, do you agree with the author when he says, "People worry too much about what others think. They post photos and want everyone to like them. They get sad if people do not like them." Are you like this?