Step 2 - Reading

The pros and cons of social media

You are going to read a text about the pros and cons of social media.
Je gaat een tekst lezen over de voor- en nadelen van sociale media.

Oefening 1

Before reading the text, discuss the following questions in your group in English:
Bespreek de vragen in je groepje in het Engels voordat je de tekst gaat lezen:

The pros and cons of social media

Social media has its pros and cons. And in this article, we talk about both sides of the argument. We show you the pros of social media and the cons of social media to help you understand both sides.

The Pros of Social Media
Let's start by looking at some of the benefits of social media.

Staying in Touch
The original goal of apps like Facebook and Instagram was to make it easier for you to connect with people. This is still the biggest pro of social media today. It's easy to use social media to keep in touch with friends and family who you don’t see often. This is especially true if you've moved to another city (or even an entirely different country).

Social Media Is Fun
When looking at the pros and cons of social media, it's easy to forget that social media is fun. [1] it wasn't fun, Facebook wouldn't have almost three billion users.
Games, chat, interesting articles, memes, videos--- there's plenty of content to keep you entertained for hours, whatever your interests are.

The Cons of Social Media
Alas, it's not all rosy. There are a lot of negative aspects you need to think about, too. Here are some of the biggest disadvantages of social media.

Cyberbullying and Online Abuse
One of the worst drawbacks of social media is cyberbullying and online abuse. It's common for people to be targeted based on their gender, appearance, sexual orientation, religion, disabilities, political beliefs, and a whole lot more. Kids are the most vulnerable.

Addiction Is a Growing Problem
Take a trip to any local restaurant, and you'll see dozens of guests with their eyes glued to their smartphones. Most of them are probably on social media sites. [2], too many people are more worried about their number of followers on Instagram than their real-life problems.

Wordlist:
Drawback = nadeel
To be targeted = aangevallen worden

[Aangepast van https://www.makeuseof.com/tag/pros-cons-social-media/]