Public health data signals a genuine crisis in adolescent mental health: rising rates of anxiety, depression, and hopelessness. But as we worry about tweens and teens who are struggling, we can’t ignore another mounting effect — the burdens that are shouldered by their friends and peers in an “always on” world.
We have studied teens and tech for over a decade. Their networks are ever-expanding, in no small part because there’s a sense that being nice means accepting fellow requests from acquaintances and friends-of-friends. And it’s not just staying connected — it’s keeping up with what others post, too.
Social media platforms thus make it technically possible to maintain more relationships than we are historically actually wired to track and manage. The result is an overwhelming wave of social information. It’s especially intense for adolescents whose developmental sensitivities drive them to care deeply about what their peers are doing and thinking.
Significant stress comes with trying to be a “good friend” in the age of social media. Friendship requires both public and behind-the-scenes support. Even before a social media post is made public, close friends can be pulled into photo selection, editing, and final examination. Besides, they need to respond in the right way and in the right amount of time, which differs from one relationship to another. Replying too quickly can be seen as over-eager, especially when the friendship is new or not close. But when it’s a close friend, too long a lag (延迟) can be hurtful.
The qualities that are key to building or breaking friendships are actually the same as they’ve always been: mutual (相互的) sharing of joys and sorrows, a give and take of acceptance and support, and an ability to weather and resolve conflicts. But technologies have transformed how friendships play out. Social media increases the burdens that come along with being a good friend. Too often, these dynamics hit teens hard in ways that are lost on adults. And that is what should be changed with the help of parents, schools and other parts of society.
【小题1】What makes teenagers’ networks continue to expand?A.The pressure to be nice. | B.The requests of their parents. |
C.The need to meet more people. | D.The burden of living independently. |
A.Exciting. | B.Challenging. | C.Money-saving. | D.Risk-taking. |
A.The qualities of being a teen friend. |
B.The conflicts between schools and parents. |
C.The relations between parents and their teens. |
D.The influences of social media on teen friendship. |
A.Why more teens are addicted to social media |
B.How teens nowadays gain long-standing friendships |
C.How social media has made teen friendships more stressful |
D.What makes teens become more sensitive to their peers’ needs |
Everyone needs friends. As the old saying goes, “No man is an island.” In other words, no one can survive without the help and friendship of others.
A.One can hardly live without a friend. |
B.Friends can change you a lot. |
C.but also your trouble and anxiety. |
D.Friends can give you a lot. |
E.But how to make friends. |
F.But what is true friendship? |
G.In short ,we need friends. |
When I was 16 years old, a boy gave me an important gift.
It was the early autumn of my first year at a junior high school, and my old school was far away.
Every time I heard the other students talking and laughing, I felt my heart broken. I couldn't talk with anyone about my problems. And I didn't want my parents to worry about me.
Then one day, my classmates talked happily with their friends, but I sat at my desk unhappily as usual.
Suddenly, I felt the touch of something bright and friendly. It made me feel happy, lively and warm.
I believe that the world is what you think it is. If you think it lonely, you might always be alone.
A.At that moment, a boy entered the classroom. |
B.So smile at the world and it will smile back. |
C.It doesn't matter because all the dark days have gone. |
D.It was a smile. |
E.That smile changed my life. |
F.It's practically impossible to make friends here. |
G.As a result, no one knew who I was. |
I like friends who share my happiness and sorrow,and who possess wings of their own and fly with me. I seek friends whose qualities illuminate(照亮)me and help me to express my love. It is for these people that I reserve the glowing hours, too good not to share.
When I was in the eighth grade, I had a friend. We were shy and “too serious” about our studies when it was becoming fashionable with our classmates to learn acceptable social behaviors. We said little at school, but she would come to my house and we would sit down with pencils and paper, and one of us would say,“Let’s start with a train whistle today.” We would sit quietly together and write poems or stories that grew out of a train whistle. Then we would read them aloud. At the end of that school year, we too, were changing into social creatures and the stories and poems stopped.
When I lived for a time in London, I had a friend. He was in despair(失望) and I was in despair, but our friendship was based on the idea that we would be sorry later if we did not explore this great city because we felt awful at the time. We met every Sunday for five weeks and visited many wonderful places. We walked until our despair disappeared and then we parted. We gave London to each other.
For almost four years I have had a remarkable friend whose imagination illuminates mine. We write long letters to each other in which we often discover our strangest selves. Each of us appears, sometimes in a funny way, in the other’s dreams. She and I agree that, at certain times, we seem to be parts of the same mind. In my most interesting moments, I often think: “Yes, I must tell…” We have never met.
It is such comforting companions I wish to keep. One bright hour with their kind is worth more to me than the lifetime services of a psychologist(心理学家), who will only fill up the healing(愈合的) silence necessary to those darkest moments in which I would rather be my own best friend.
【小题1】In the eighth grade, what did the author do while her classmates started developing proper social behavior?A.Become serious about her studies. | B.Went to her friend’s house regularly. |
C.Learned from her claamates at school. | D.Wrote poems and stories with her friend. |
A.our exploration of London was a memorable gift to both of us |
B.we were unwilling to tear ourselves away from London |
C.our unpleasant feelings about London disappeared |
D.we parted with each other in London |
A.call each other regularly | B.have similar personalities |
C.write stories | D.sometimes dream about each other |
A.seek professional help | B.be left alone |
C.stay with her best friend | D.break the silence |
A.Unforgettable Experiences | B.Remarkable Imagination |
C.Lifelong Friendships | D.Noble Companions |
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