Exercise 1

Large-scale national surveys carried out in the USA indicate an alarming surge of more than 20 per cent
in teenage depression and suicide attempts. ___________________________________________.This
rise is taking place among American teenagers from every background regardless of race, ethnicity,
region or privilege. In recent years, the generation of teenagers born after 1995 has been found to be
particularly susceptible to mental health issues.

What is causing this sudden behavioural change? What is causing this sudden, troubling surge in
teenage depression and suicide? _______________________________________________________.
In 2012, smartphone ownership among American teenagers crossed the 50 per cent threshold.
Interestingly enough, this coincided with the rise in teenage depression and suicide. By 2015, 73 per
cent of teenagers had access to a smartphone. The impact of this on teenage depression and suicide is
anyone’s guess.

These surveys uncover two extremely worrying trends – that smartphone use and depression increase
in tandem, and that there is a definite link between the amount of time spent online and mental health
issues._____________________________________________________________________________.

Besides its effect on mental health, excessive smartphone use impacts teenagers in other ways. When
they are plugged in, they have fewer face-to-face interactions with their family and friends. By spending
less time engaging in face-to-face interactions, teenagers are missing out on one of the deepest
wellsprings of human happiness that such interactions generate.
___________________________________________________________________________________.

An increase in the amount of time spent online also results in less time being spent on healthier
activities, which adversely impacts not only their social life but also their health.
___________________________________________________________________. It should be noted
that feeling socially isolated is one of the major risk factors for suicide.

Teenagers are also sleeping less. It has been noted that teenagers who spend more time on their
smartphones are more likely to be sleep-deprived.
_________________________________________________________________________.Therefore, if
smartphones is causing less sleep, that could also explain the sudden increase in depression and suicide
among teenagers.

(Adapted from TheConversation.com, 15 November 2017)

1 Having insufficient sleep is a major risk factor for depression.

2 Inevitably, teenagers withdraw into themselves and experience negative feelings of depression.
3 Two different data sets revealed that teenagers who spent five or more hours a day online were 71
per cent more likely than their counterparts, who spent less than an hour a day online, to have at
least one suicide risk factor, such as experiencing depression or thinking about suicide.
4 Most surveys seem to be pointing in the direction of one major change in the lives of these teenagers–
namely, the sudden prominence of smartphones.
5 An even more alarming statistic is the 31 per cent increase in the teenage suicide rate.
6 It is no wonder that their moods are affected as they fall out of touch with reality.
Exercise 2
There is little doubt that school bullying has a negative impact on the victim, but who would have
thought that this impact could reach into adulthood, even affecting the career prospects of the
individual! Surveys indicate that those who were victims of bullying have damaged self-confidence.
_________________________________________________________________________________.

Children who have been bullied often try to get out of school as early as possible. They do not feel
motivated to learn there. Since they do not stay on to complete their secondary education, they do not
gain the qualifications needed to enter the jobs they might have been suited for.
_________________________________________________________________________________.

Victims of bullying have a lower chance of achieving top grades in school when compared with
those who were not bullied. They often feel powerless in the face of bullying, and this has a damaging
effect on their self-esteem, causing them to stay away from school due to fear of attack or intimidation
by other students. _____________________________________________________________. This
impacts their overall performance. Furthermore, according to one study, victims of school bullying
were more likely to experience depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts and poor physical health later on
in life. An American study in 2007 on the effects of school bullying indicated that 40 per cent of
suicide victims had been bullied at school.

In view of the long-term effects of school bullying, it is important that the problem is tackled and
children are taught the social skills necessary to prevent bullying. ___________________________.If
there can be more interaction among children and across age groups, bullying can be reduced.

Many children believe that bullying cannot be stopped and that if they report it, nothing will be
done or the situation may get even worse. ________________________________________________.
It must also be ensured that they follow up on the problem as soon as it has been reported and take
steps to address the problem immediately.

1 The more lesson they miss, the more likely they are to produce low grades when compared with their
peers.
2 This indicates that bullying can have a negative academic impact on children.
3 It is therefore important for schools to create an environment where children are encouraged to report
bullying.
4 While some people who were bullied as children will go on to be successful in life, there are those
who struggle with the effects even up to midlife.
5 They need to realize that bullying stems from a lack of understanding of other ethnicities and cultures.