Is Social Media Making Us Unhappy?

Skimming

To skim is to quickly read a text in order to understand the main idea. When reading a short article, you can skim the text to find out the main purpose of the article.

Skim through the article below. Which statement best describes the main topic of the article?

Social media can make people question their happiness.
Quitting social media is better than overusing it.
What people do on social media affects their physical health.
Certain social media sites help people make friends more easily

Social media helps us connect¹ with old friends, family, and groups. Posting positive² statuses*, videos, or pictures will make you feel more excited about life. However, if you use social media frequently³ and post fewer photos or have fewer friends, you might start to feel depressed⁴. What’s more, a lack⁵ of face-to-face contact can also make us feel lonely⁶.

At the same time, we all know someone who goes on vacation and posts every moment⁷ on Instagram. They seem to forget to enjoy their vacation. So then, do we need to quit⁸ social media to be truly happy?

While that is one way to solve that problem, it isn’t necessary. It might be healthier to just practice limiting⁹ your hours on social media and try to explore¹⁰ other options¹¹ for entertainment¹².

Choose the best answer to each question.

Reading for the main idea	1. Which of the following titles best explains the main topic of the article? Finding True Happiness with Social Media The Secret to Not Wasting Time on Social Media Five Reasons to Quit Social Media A Time to Change the Way We Use Social Media
Reading for specific information	2. According to the information above, why might a person feel sad about their life on social media? They attend too many events. They have fewer friends than others. They use social media often. They post the same statuses as their friends.
Making inferences	3. What kind of entertainment would the author most likely suggest? Visiting a museum with friends. Sharing videos on social media. Attending a concert by yourself. Chatting with a friend online.