Debate preparation template

First speaker guide

Topic Are social networking sites useful or harmful to people?

Speakers’ names Lina Vanessa Gil y Rosita Torres

Speaker’s position (Affirmative)

Greeting and Introduction
Good afternoon Instructor, opposition and audience.

We are…Lina Vanessa Gil and Rosita Torres.

The topic for today's debate is: are social networking sites useful or harmful to people?

Outline your team's case:

a) Your points:
I am going to talk about how useful social networks are for people, in the areas:

● Social
● Work
● Educational

b) Second speaker's points:

Our second speaker will be talking about....

● Less personal contact.

● Safety hazards.

● Mix of personal and professional life.

Your First Point
State your argument:
My first point is in the social realm. We are currently living a pandemic, which has
distanced us from our loved ones and friends, isolating us from almost all of society.

What's the information that supports your argument?

The human being by nature and by necessity is a sociable being, since childhood we
seek to establish healthy friendships, to overcome shyness, learn to share and work as
a team.
Socializing is a vital process that transforms the individual biologically and socially for an
integral development.

What is the information that supports your argument?

Social networks allow us in these times, to continue with the visual or auditory contact
with our family and friends, even if they are in the same city and even more when they
live outside of it.

Give examples, facts, figures, etc.:

Example: networks such as Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, Skype, allow us to
communicate by audio, share photos, ideas, dreams, projects, etc.
 Your Second Point
State your argument:
My second point is that of social networking in the workplace.

What's the information that supports your argument?

We currently have the social network LinkedIn which is an integrator of professional
networks, to put different professionals in contact with each other or with companies,
although it is mainly used to locate a future or better job.
In addition, social networks allow to promote internal communication in companies,
creating discussion groups on WhatsApp or LinkedIn or group video calls on WhatsApp.

Give examples, facts, figures, etc.:

Example: today we can look for a new job option through web pages, where with
uploading our resume we can apply to certain vacancies or otherwise be contacted by
companies or organizations that are interested in our professional profile.
Your Third Point
State your argument:
My third point is social networking in the educational setting.

What's the information that supports your argument?

Social networks have become a tool that enables collaborative learning and involves
information sharing spaces that foster cooperation.

Give examples, facts, figures, etc.:

Applications such as YouTube, Edmodo, WhatsApp, among others, allow from the
comfort of our home access to different training content in the area of our interest. They
also allow us to share information among fellow students, coordinate the presentation of
papers, and even receive counseling from teachers.
Closing statement
Instructor, opponent and audience members, in conclusion, social networks are a tool
that allows us to improve our lifestyle, by simplifying some activities that previously
consumed more time. Activities such as job search or the development of a school or
university activity; these networks allow us to continue with our life projects, giving easy
and often free access to quality education, virtually.
And the most important and vital for every human being, socializing, in a world where
health conditions have repressed us the freedom to embrace and be face to face with
our family and friends, is priceless.

Second speaker guide

Speaker’s position (Negative)

Expressing disagreement with first speaker’s arguments

I disagree on ... social networking sites are useful ... because they make young people and
society misuse their time creating stereotypes of beauty, building models that have
damaged the community turning it into hateful groups, they have tried to form a
company by comparing them to multinationals but most of the associated enterprises
have been destroyed.

Briefly State the Points You Will Make

Today I will be talking to you about:
 ● Less personal contact.

● Safety hazards.

● Mix of personal and professional life.

Your First Point
State your argument:
My first point is...social networking sites mean that societies have very little physical
contact possible between their members.

What's the information that supports your argument?

Social networks generate a great distraction in human beings, to the point of losing the
importance of meeting people who think differently from one another, the importance of
looking at the real world. Having all the information you need at hand is very positive
because it reduces having to waste energy, but at the same time it makes us, remote
people with minimal ability to discuss issues of great importance.

Give examples, facts, figures, etc.:

According to recent events, the reduction in physical dating is evident, because couples
tend to show a large part of their life on these sites, which limits the direct relationship
by more than 80%. they can endanger those involved.

Your Second Point

State your argument:
My second point is... that social networks can promote unsafe spaces where money,
privacy and even life are risked.

What's the information that supports your argument?

Millionaire thefts have been committed through social networking sites due to the fact
that very important personal information is published inadvertently, such as where you
are on vacation, number of accounts or time savings, as well as the publication of
intimate photos. It has left great problems in the lives of many people, this has led to
unexpected encounters between strangers that have left many disappearances and
deaths.

Give examples, facts, figures, etc.:

A great example is the case of a 17-year-old young man, who lived in the south of
Bogotá, who met a person who posed as his friend, they agreed to an exit very close to
his house and this boy did not return home, After an investigation it was found that said
person was not a woman, but rather a man, the head of a youth trafficking gang, for
which there was no more trace of this young man.

Your Third Point

State your argument:
My third point is ... on social networking sites there is a mixture of the personal and the
professional because entrepreneurship can lead to these points.

What's the information that supports your argument?

Whether it is a large or small business, it will always tend to stir the personal, because it
tries to promote these from its own social networks, but that is a big mistake because the
brand must have its own tone of voice and a particular way of communicating. In
addition, another common problem of managing a digital brand is not knowing when to
disconnect from work.
Give examples, fact, figures etc.:
It is very common that someone known for reasons of the pandemic, has decided to
create a company, many of these people are promoting their brands through their social
media sites, leaving aside their social life and family privacy, for which they have been
more aware of social networks than of his time as a person, friend and others.

Closing statement
Chairman, opposition and members of the audience, in conclusion ... I think that the use
of social networking sites is causing irreparable toilets in society that are affecting us at a
personal, work, economic and other level, as I discussed earlier, it is generating that every
time we become more addicted to new technologies and we do not interact in our
common environment, in addition, not leaving work aside for a moment can generate a
great load of stress.