Social networking

江麗

主題語境：網絡社交 篇幅：413詞 建議用時：7分鐘

1 The biggest criticism （批評） of social net?working is that our young people are losing theiroffline friends to online friends. In fact， there isa lot of research that shows these criticisms aregenerally unfounded. Research by Allen foundthat people are not replacing offline friends withonline companions but are using them to supporttheir offline relationships. It also found that our online friendships actually allow us to havediscussions with a much more diverse set of people than in the real world and improve ourpsychological happiness.

2 However， there is one part of social networking that is deeply worrying. We find our?selves in a hyper?connected world where people access social media day and night， excitedto make announcements about the tiniest details of their lives. Research is starting to showthat this culture is negatively affecting not only our friendships but also our character.

3 Professor Larry D. Rosen， in his book iDisorder， presents evidence that social net?working is turning us into narcissists （自戀者）. He says that young people who overuse so?cial networking sites can become vain， aggressive， and show anti?social behavior in theiroffline lives. But perhaps an even more disturbing effect is that one of our most basic?emotions seems to be disappearing—empathy. This is the emotion that bonds us together; itallows us to see the world from our friends' points of view. Without it， we are far less able toconnect and form meaningful adult relationships.

4 Sherry Turkle， a professor of social sciences at MIT， suggests that people are nolonger comfortable being alone. This is something confirmed by a study where 200 univer?sity students were asked to go without social media for 24 hours. Many admitted an addic?tion to their online social network; most complained that they felt cut off from family andfriends. But being alone is a time， Turkle argues， when we self?reflect and get in touch withwho we really are. It is only when we do this that we can make meaningful friendships withothers. She believes， as is the title of her book， that we are simply“ Alone Together”.

5 These potential changes in our character are rather disturbing. If nothing is done， ouryoung people could well be in trouble. Therefore， suggestions about ways to encourage ouryoung people to avoid the problems of social networking should be made， so they can de?velop the kinds of friendships that are required to grow into well?adjusted and happy adults.

Reading

Check

1. What does the underlined word“ unfounded” in paragraph 1 probably mean？

A. Undoubted. B. False. C. Acceptable. D. Illegal.

2. What does the author mainly want to convey？

A. The Internet culture causes various problems.

B. We are losing some most important emotions.

C. Online friendships do good to offline friendships.

D. Social networking affects young people's personalities.

3. How can we make meaningful friendships with others according to the text？

A. By getting in touch with online friends.

B. By avoiding the problems of social networking.

C. By reflecting and getting in touch with ourselves.

D. By being alone rather than having discussions with many people.

4. What does the phrase“ Alone Together” in the text suggest？

A. People are interacting more offline than online.

B. People are physically alone but virtually connected.

C. People are losing offline friends to online friends.

D. People are becoming more social offline due to virtual connections.

Language

Study

Ⅰ. 日積月累

companion n. 同伴；伴侶

diverse adj. 多種多樣的；不同的

hyper?connected adj. 超級互聯的

aggressive adj. 侵略的；好斗的

empathy n. 同理心

addiction n. 沉迷；上癮

social networking 網絡社交

psychological happiness 心理上的幸福

social science 社會科學

Ⅱ. 語法填空

Studies show online friends can help with real?life friendships， making people1.__________（happy） and more social. However， 2.__________（use） social media too muchmight cause problems. It can make people act 3.__________（selfish） and aggressively， andnot want 4. __________（spend） time with others in the real life.

Another issue is 5.__________heavy social media users might struggle to understandand share feelings 6. __________others， making it hard to form strong friendships as anadult. Besides， some people may feel uncomfortable being alone due to excessive use of so?cial media， 7.__________（make） them miss out on time to think about 8.__________（them）and create deep bonds with others.

It's important to teach young people how 9.__________（take） advantage of social mediaresponsibly， to spend time with friends in the real life， and give themselves time10. __________self?reflection. This is important for their happiness and becoming well?rounded adults.