Many families in America are taking big tech companies to court. They say companies like Facebook, TikTok, and Snapchat let kids use products that can hurt them. One person, Taylor Little, says they got really hooked on social media, which made them very sad and led to them trying to hurt themselves. The families want the companies to take responsibility for the bad things that can happen to kids, like what happened to a girl named Molly who saw very sad things online and died.

This court case is one of the biggest against tech companies in Silicon Valley. Families from all over America, including schools, are part of it. They say that the social media platforms are made to get kids hooked on purpose. A judge said the tech companies can’t just say they have the right to free speech or use a law called the Communications Decency Act to avoid blame. The companies don’t agree with the families and are ready to fight back in court.

Taylor Little talks about how social media was like a trap for them when they were a teenager. They saw scary things online when they were just 11 and didn’t know it would happen. Little also felt bad about their body because of things they saw on social media. The lawyers for the families say the social media sites are made in a way that gets kids addicted and hurts them. Little hopes the court case will make the companies change social media to be safer because they think the companies care more about making money than helping people.

Original news source: ‘I was addicted to social media – now I’m suing Big Tech’ (BBC)

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Group or Classroom Activities

Warm-up Activities:

– News Summary
Instructions: Divide the class into small groups. Assign each group to read a part of the article and summarize it in their own words. Each group should then present their summary to the class. This will not only practice their reading comprehension but also their speaking and summarizing skills.

– Opinion Spectrum
Instructions: Write a series of statements related to the article on the board (e.g., “Social media companies should be responsible for user safety,” “Social media can be addictive,” etc.). Students stand in a line according to how much they agree or disagree with each statement, from one side of the room to the other, creating a human spectrum. Ask students to explain their position to practice their speaking and opinion-formulating skills.

– Vocabulary Pictionary
Instructions: Identify key vocabulary words from the article (e.g., “court,” “responsibility,” “addicted,” “platforms”). Divide the class into two teams. One student from each team comes to the board to draw the assigned word without speaking or writing letters or numbers, while their team tries to guess the word as quickly as possible. This helps with word recognition and understanding in a fun and interactive way.

– Headline Creation
Instructions: Ask students to create a catchy headline for the article that captures the main idea. They can work in pairs or small groups. After creating their headlines, have them share with the class and discuss which headlines are the most effective and why. This exercises their understanding of the main points of the article and creativity in language use.

– Future Predictions
Instructions: Have students work in pairs or small groups to discuss and write down predictions about the outcome of the court case and the future of social media regulation. Encourage them to use future tense structures and modals of speculation (e.g., “might,” “could,” “will”). After discussing, each pair or group can share their predictions with the class, providing practice in future tense and speculative language.

Comprehension Questions:

1. What are the families in America doing to the big tech companies?
2. Why does Taylor Little think social media is bad for kids?
3. What happened to the girl named Molly because of what she saw online?
4. Who else besides families is involved in the court case against the tech companies?
5. What do the families say about the way social media platforms are made?
6. What does Taylor Little hope will happen because of the court case?
7. Why do the families think the tech companies need to change social media?
Go to answers ⇩

Listen and Fill in the Gaps:

Many families in America are taking big tech companies to court. They say companies like Facebook, TikTok, and Snapchat let kids use products that can hurt them. One (1)______, Taylor Little, says they got really hooked on social (2)______, which made them very sad and led to them trying to hurt themselves. The families want the companies to (3)______ responsibility for the bad things that can happen to kids, like what happened to a girl named Molly who saw very sad things online and died.

This (4)______ case is one of the biggest against tech companies in Silicon Valley. Families from all over (5)______, including schools, are part of it. They say that the social media platforms are made to get kids (6)______ on purpose. A judge said the tech companies can’t just say they have the (7)______ to (8)______ speech or use a law called the Communications Decency Act to avoid blame. The companies don’t agree with the (9)______ and are ready to fight back in court.

Taylor Little talks about how social media was like a trap for them when they were a teenager. They saw scary things online when they were just 11 and didn’t know it would happen. Little also felt bad about their body because of things they saw on (10)______ media. The lawyers for the families say the social media sites are (11)______ in a way that gets (12)______ addicted and hurts them. Little hopes the court case will make the companies change social media to be safer because they think the companies care more about making money than helping people.
Go to answers ⇩

Discussion Questions:

Students can ask a partner these questions, or discuss them as a group.

1. What is a court?
2. How would you feel if you saw scary things on the internet?
3. Do you like using social media? Why or why not?
4. Do you think it’s okay for kids to use social media? Why?
5. Have you ever felt sad because of something you saw online? Can you tell us about it?
6. What does it mean to be “hooked” on something?
7. Why do you think companies make social media sites that can get kids hooked?
8. If you were a judge, what would you say to the big tech companies?
9. Do you think social media can be dangerous for kids? Why or why not?
10. Have you or your friends ever felt bad about your bodies because of social media?
11. What can families do to help kids be safe on social media?
12. Do you think social media companies should change their websites to be safer for kids? Why?

Individual Activities

Vocabulary Meanings:

Match each word to its meaning.

Words:
1. families
2. court
3. companies
4. social media
5. kids
6. hurt
7. addicted
8. safer

Meanings:
(a) A place where legal cases are decided
(b) Less likely to cause harm or danger
(c) Children
(d) Groups of people who live together and are related
(e) To cause pain or harm to someone
(f) To be unable to stop doing something
(g) Organizations that make and sell things
(h) Websites and apps where people can share pictures and messages
Go to answers ⇩

Multiple Choice Questions:

1. Why are families in America taking big tech companies to court?
(a) They want to make money from the companies.
(b) They believe that social media can harm kids.
(c) They want to become famous by suing the companies.
(d) They want to shut down social media platforms.

2. Which social media platforms are mentioned in the article?
(a) Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.
(b) Pinterest, LinkedIn, and WhatsApp.
(c) Netflix, Hulu, and Amazon Prime.
(d) Facebook, TikTok, and Snapchat.

3. What happened to Taylor Little because of social media?
(a) They became very happy and made lots of friends.
(b) They became very popular and famous.
(c) They became very sad and tried to hurt themselves.
(d) They became very rich and successful.

4. Why do the families want the tech companies to take responsibility?
(a) They want the companies to shut down social media platforms.
(b) They want the companies to make social media safer for kids.
(c) They want the companies to give them money.
(d) They want the companies to apologize to them.

5. What did a girl named Molly experience because of social media?
(a) She became famous and successful.
(b) She made lots of friends and had fun.
(c) She became rich and powerful.
(d) She saw very sad things online and died.

6. What does the judge say about the tech companies’ defense?
(a) They can’t use the right to free speech or the Communications Decency Act to avoid blame.
(b) They have the right to do whatever they want.
(c) They should shut down their social media platforms.
(d) They should apologize to the families.

7. How did social media affect Taylor Little’s body image?
(a) They felt good about their body because of things they saw on social media.
(b) They didn’t care about their body because of social media.
(c) They felt bad about their body because of things they saw on social media.
(d) They became obsessed with exercising because of social media.

8. What does Taylor Little hope the court case will achieve?
(a) They hope the companies will change social media to be safer.
(b) They hope the companies will shut down social media platforms.
(c) They hope to become famous through the court case.
(d) They hope to make a lot of money from the court case.

Go to answers ⇩

True or False Questions:

1. A judge ruled that the tech companies cannot use the excuse of free speech or a law called the Communications Decency Act to avoid blame.
2. Families in America are supporting big tech companies like Facebook, TikTok, and Snapchat because they believe these companies let kids use products that can benefit them.
3. One person named Taylor Little got really sad and tried to hurt themselves because they became addicted to social media.
4. The families want the tech companies to ignore the responsibility for the bad things that can happen to kids, like what happened to a girl named Molly who saw sad things online and died.
5. The tech companies agree with the families and are unprepared to defend themselves in court.
6. This court case is one of the biggest against tech companies in Silicon Valley and involves families from all over America, including schools.
7. The families argue that social media platforms are designed to purposely get kids addicted.
8. Taylor Little believes that social media is not like a trap for teenagers and hopes that the court case will make the companies make social media more dangerous because they care more about making money than helping people.
Go to answers ⇩

Write a Summary:

Write a summary of this news article in two sentences.

Writing Questions:

Answer the following questions. Write as much as you can for each answer.

1. Why are families taking big tech companies to court?
2. What happened to Taylor Little because of social media?
3. Who else is joining the families in the court case against the tech companies?
4. What do the families say the social media platforms are designed to do to kids?
5. What does Taylor Little hope will happen because of the court case?

Answers

Comprehension Question Answers:

1. What are the families in America doing to the big tech companies?
The families are taking the big tech companies to court because they think the companies let kids use things that can hurt them.

2. Why does Taylor Little think social media is bad for kids?
Taylor Little thinks social media is bad for kids because it got them really hooked, made them sad, and led to them trying to hurt themselves.

3. What happened to the girl named Molly because of what she saw online?
The girl named Molly died after seeing very sad things online.

4. Who else besides families is involved in the court case against the tech companies?
Schools from all over America are also involved in the court case against the tech companies.

5. What do the families say about the way social media platforms are made?
The families say that the social media platforms are made on purpose to get kids hooked.

6. What does Taylor Little hope will happen because of the court case?
Taylor Little hopes the court case will make the companies change social media to be safer.

7. Why do the families think the tech companies need to change social media?
The families think the tech companies need to change social media because they care more about making money than helping people, and this can hurt kids.
Go back to questions ⇧

Listen and Fill in the Gaps Answers:

(1) person
(2) media
(3) take
(4) court
(5) America
(6) hooked
(7) right
(8) free
(9) families
(10) social
(11) made
(12) kids
Go back to questions ⇧

Vocabulary Meanings Answers:

1. families
Answer: (d) Groups of people who live together and are related

2. court
Answer: (a) A place where legal cases are decided

3. companies
Answer: (g) Organizations that make and sell things

4. social media
Answer: (h) Websites and apps where people can share pictures and messages

5. kids
Answer: (c) Children

6. hurt
Answer: (e) To cause pain or harm to someone

7. addicted
Answer: (f) To be unable to stop doing something

8. safer
Answer: (b) Less likely to cause harm or danger
Go back to questions ⇧

Multiple Choice Answers:

1. Why are families in America taking big tech companies to court?
Answer: (b) They believe that social media can harm kids.

2. Which social media platforms are mentioned in the article?
Answer: (d) Facebook, TikTok, and Snapchat.

3. What happened to Taylor Little because of social media?
Answer: (c) They became very sad and tried to hurt themselves.

4. Why do the families want the tech companies to take responsibility?
Answer: (b) They want the companies to make social media safer for kids.

5. What did a girl named Molly experience because of social media?
Answer: (d) She saw very sad things online and died.

6. What does the judge say about the tech companies’ defense?
Answer: (a) They can’t use the right to free speech or the Communications Decency Act to avoid blame.

7. How did social media affect Taylor Little’s body image?
Answer: (c) They felt bad about their body because of things they saw on social media.

8. What does Taylor Little hope the court case will achieve?
Answer: (a) They hope the companies will change social media to be safer.
Go back to questions ⇧

True or False Answers:

1. A judge ruled that the tech companies cannot use the excuse of free speech or a law called the Communications Decency Act to avoid blame. (Answer: True)
2. Families in America are supporting big tech companies like Facebook, TikTok, and Snapchat because they believe these companies let kids use products that can benefit them. (Answer: False)
3. One person named Taylor Little got really sad and tried to hurt themselves because they became addicted to social media. (Answer: True)
4. The families want the tech companies to ignore the responsibility for the bad things that can happen to kids, like what happened to a girl named Molly who saw sad things online and died. (Answer: False)
5. The tech companies agree with the families and are unprepared to defend themselves in court. (Answer: False)
6. This court case is one of the biggest against tech companies in Silicon Valley and involves families from all over America, including schools. (Answer: True)
7. The families argue that social media platforms are designed to purposely get kids addicted. (Answer: True)
8. Taylor Little believes that social media is not like a trap for teenagers and hopes that the court case will make the companies make social media more dangerous because they care more about making money than helping people. (Answer: False)
Go back to questions ⇧