Discussion Questions:
- Is technology a positive of negative influence on teenagers?
- How has the Internet and Social Media changed the lives of teenagers?
- How are we different in real life vs. online?
Write a persuasive essay, with a clear argument and support. You must use outside evidence, either from in-class articles or research on the internet. All sources must be noted in MLA Format on a Works Cited page after the essay.
Online Resources:
- Teens who spend less time in front of screens are happier – up to a point, new research shows (Washington Post)
- The surprisingly positive power of texting, according to science (Washington Post)
- Research offers mixed messages on the impact of social media on adolescent emotional health (Baltimore Sun)
- What you post on social media can hurt, and help, the college admissions process (Common Sense Media)
- Time to teach teens–and all of us–to be savvy about news on the internet (The Dallas Morning News)
- No, kids CAN’T study while they’re texting (Daily Mail)
- Colleges grapple with cheating in the digital age (Los Angeles Times)
- How young is too young for cellphones in school? (Washington Post)
- Teen Texting Soars; Will Social Skills Suffer? (NPR)
- Keeping My Personal Life Private, On And Offline (Youth Radio)
- In Your Facebook: Social Sites Are Everywhere (NPR)
- Teens Aren’t Just Texting, They’re ‘Sexting’ (NPR)
- Where There’s ‘Sexting,’ There May Be Sex (NPR)
- Steve Jobs was a Low Tech Parent (NY Times)
- Facebook Makes Us Sadder And Less Satisfied, Study Finds (NPR)
- Brown Oks bill allowing minors to delete embarrassing Web posts (LA Times)
- Alter Egos in a Virtual World (NPR)
- Texting away our best manners (Kansas City Star)
- Teens Are Teens (Los Angeles Times)
- Teenagers and Social Networking (Guardian)
- Why We Can’t Look Away From Our Screens (NYTimes)
- Hooked on Our Smartphones (NYTimes)
- Generation X More Addicted to Social Media Than Millennials, Report Finds (NYTimes)
Writing Process:
Editing/Revision Resources:
- AVID Transitions
- Easybib.com (Works Cited)
- Purdue Online Writing Lab (MLA Formatting and Style Guide)
- Persuasion Map (readwritethink)
- Grammarly
- Hemingwayapp
- Paperrater
Videos:
- 5 Crazy Ways Social Media is Changing Your Brain Right Now
- Is Technology Wiring Teens to Have Better Brains?
- Why Multitasking Is Bad
- Is Technology and Multitasking Rewiring Our Brain?
- Social Media Impact On Teens
- No, kids CAN’T study while they’re texting: Research finds teenagers struggle with multitasking
- How social media is affecting teens
- Look Up from your social media addiction and live
- Can we auto-correct humanity?
- Sexting scandal highlights challenges for schools
- The high-tech tricks kids use to cheat in school
- Multitasking is a Myth, and to Attempt It Comes at a Neurobiological Cost
- Paolo Cardini: Forget multitasking, try monotasking
- The problem with multitasking (The Energy Project)
