Unit 8

Diagnostic Exercise 8
Featured skill: Understanding the tone of a passage, Identifying cause and effect

Featured question type: Higher-order thinking questions

Featured question format: Extended-response questions

Read the text and answer questions 1–12 on pages 3–5. (20 marks)

Social networking and you

1 [1] Nowadays, social networking sites like Facebook and Twitter are all the rage.
Practically, everyone has, or knows someone who has, an account on at least one social
networking site. Since the growth in popularity of these sites, there has been much debate
about the benefits and drawbacks of this new technology.

5[2] The benefits of social networking are numerous. Before the advent of advanced
technology, people kept in touch with others by writing letters and making phone calls,
which now seem like archaic means of communication. At times, this could be costly,
especially if you were making international phone calls. Social networking sites provide
effortless and inexpensive ways to keep in touch with your friends, family and colleagues.
10 You can keep track of what they’ve been doing, upload photos and videos and send
messages with just a click of a button. They also make it easier to track down old friends
and classmates. I’ve reconnected with many of my old friends from secondary school
whom I haven’t seen for years. It’s like a virtual reunion.

[3] Another advantage of social networking sites is that you can use them as a marketing
15 platform to promote causes. For example, in the immediate aftermath of the Japan
earthquake, organizations used social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, to
appeal for help and donations. The online community passed the message on to their
friends and acquaintances, who in turn spread the word to their friends and acquaintances.
I have a friend who used to be sceptical about joining a social networking site, but he finally
20 gave in when he needed to promote his charity’s fundraiser. He found that he could
instantly publicize the fundraiser through newsfeeds and updates, without spending
money on marketing and publicity. It was an easy and free way to reach new groups of
potential supporters and raise much-needed funds.

[4] Social networking sites also offer a great way to network professionally. For instance, I
25 had a friend who posted on her profile that she was looking for someone to design a website.
It turned out that I knew someone who was a web designer and I recommended him for the
job. I was able to help out two friends at the same time just by connecting them through a
social networking site.

[5] You can also use social networking sites to promote specific interests. On Facebook, you
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30 can join groups and find people who have the same interests as you. You can ‘meet’ like-
minded individuals and share information and resources. There are a myriad of groups that
people can join, ranging from ‘Photography lovers’ to ‘Lefties’ to ‘I love Korean stuff and
I’m not Korean’.

[6] If you’re an actor, a musician or a writer, you can promote your work by creating a fan
35 page. You can keep your fans informed about your upcoming projects, tour dates and
special appearances. It also gives fans the opportunity to interact with the artists they
admire. I’m a huge fan of the artist Adrian Tomine, and I was pleased to find that he had a
fan page on Facebook. As a fan, I can keep track of his book signings and the new works he
produces for magazines.

40 [7] While there are advantages to social networking sites, there are many apparent
drawbacks as well. There are real concerns about fraud and identify theft. It’s as simple as
1, 2, 3 for identity thieves to hack into your account and perform illegal activities using your
identity. When you create a profile on a site, you need to share personal information, such
as your email address, name and location. There have been incidents where people have
45 used personal information obtained from social networks to steal other people’s identities
and commit fraud. Identity thieves have obtained credit cards, opened telephone accounts
and rented flats in other people’s names. To avoid falling victim to this, you should limit
the personal information you share on social networks, which is possible on many sites.
However, your friends may not be able to find you if you don’t share some personal
50 information, which basically defeats the purpose of a social networking site. But I have
always believed that it is always better to be safe than sorry.

[8] Another concern people have about social networks is stalking. People who don’t know
you can access your information. It could be a friend of a friend. There have been times
when people tried to add me as a ‘friend’, but I had no idea who they were. We may have
55 gone to the same school, but we never talked or made eye contact with each other. Take my
cue, if you haven’t a clue who that person is, then it’s probably not a bright idea to add
them. But ultimately, it’s up to you whether or not you accept people as your friends. It’s
very easy for predators to find victims using social networking sites. Again, you should be
cautious about what kind of information you post on sites, or at least limit the information
60 that you do post to only your friends and block users you don’t want to disclose your
information to.

[9] While social networking can be a fun pastime, it can take time away from socializing
with your friends in the real world. Some people spend hours on the web browsing through
people’s profiles, and they feel like they’re getting to know that person and consider them
65 as ‘friends’. In some ways, social networking sites give people a false sense of the meaning
of friendship because being ‘friends’ is now defined as keeping in touch with each other in
a virtual world. For example, some people will leave a comment about a photo I’ve
uploaded or ‘like’ a link that I’ve posted. However, I haven’t seen them or had a
meaningful conversation with them since I added them as a friend. A comment here and a
70 comment there is not a conversation. To me, that is not keeping in touch. Don’t get me
wrong, I do appreciate the comments, but it’s only a sense of connection, not an actual

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 connection.

[10] Sometimes, social networking can be very addictive and a form of distraction. There
have been times when I found myself checking people’s updates throughout the day when
75 I had far more important things to attend to. Now I limit the time I spend on social
networking sites because I don’t want to fall behind on my work.

[11] So, as with any new technology, there is going to be pros and cons. However, I believe
that you can minimize or avoid the drawbacks if you manage your social networking
activities responsibly and limit the amount of time you spend on these sites.

1 According to the writer, why is there a need to address the benefits and drawbacks of social
media? Give two reasons from the text to support your answer. (2 marks)

2 Why does the writer think that social media is a better way to stay connected with people than
writing letters or making phone calls? Do you agree? (2 marks)

Unlike writing letters or making phone calls, social media is free and very easy to use. I agree

with the writer because lots of people have family members who live abroad and social media

enables them to keep in contact regularly and it costs nothing. Anyone can use social media,

even if they were not brought up with it because it is so easy to use./I disagree with the writer

because using social media is a far less personal way to keep in contact with people than

writing a letter or making a phone call.

3 According to paragraph 3, how can social media help to promote causes? (2 marks)

Social media serves as a free marketing platform to raise awareness of the cause. It can also

help to raise money for the cause.

4 Complete the sentence based on the information provided in paragraph 4.

Because the writer’s friend posted that she was looking for a web designer on her profile, the
writer recommended someone for the job.

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5 Why do you think a group called ‘Lefties’ was formed on social media?

The group promoted a specific interest—being left-handed or supporting leftist politics—and

people were interested in the group.

6 According to paragraph 6, is social media useful for writers? Why? (2 marks)

7 Why can sharing personal information on social media be a bad thing?

8 Why do you think people add ‘friends’ on social media sites when they have never met them
in real life?

Some people want to have as many friends as possible on their site because they view it like a

popularity contest./People might add people they admire, like celebrities or influential figures.

9 Does the writer think having a very active profile with lots of friends means that you have lots
of true friends? Use evidence from paragraph 9 to support your answer.

No, it is clear that the writer does not believe virtual friends to be true friends because of the

use of quotation marks around ‘friends’, suggesting the use of verbal irony. / No, the writer

believes that social media has given people ‘a false sense of the meaning of friendship’. /

No, the writer thinks social media provides ‘a sense of connection, not an actual connection.’

10 What is the overall tone of the text? Which words or phrases from the text helped you
determine the tone? (2 marks)

Tone:

Key words/phrases: numerous benefits, drawbacks, advantage, real concerns, pros and cons,

minimize or avoid the drawbacks

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11 Overall, does the writer feel that social media is a positive or negative thing? How do you
know this? (2 marks)

Overall, the writer thinks that social media is a positive thing because he/she says, ‘I believe

you can minimize or avoid the drawbacks’.

12 Do you think social media is a good thing? Give at least THREE reasons for your answer.
(3 marks)

Yes. Social media can help connect friends and family; this can be very important if people

live far apart. Social media can help good causes by raising awareness and helping raise

funds. Social media provides a platform for professional networking and can help people

find jobs or find people suitable for a job. If you work in a field which requires promotion of

your work, social media can help you do this. / No. Social media can put you at risk of

fraud or identity theft if you do not keep your personal details private. Accepting friend
requests from strangers may lead to you becoming a victim of stalkers or predators. Using
social media to ‘socialize’ means you will spend less time socializing with your friends in
real life. Social media can be addictive and you may spend more time on it than on doing
important school work.

END OF DIAGNOSTIC EXERCISE 8

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