Student Name: ________________________
English/Language Arts Teacher’s Name: ________________________
Date:________________
SCHOOL DISTRICT OF CLAY COUNTY
OneClay Writes – Fall 2015
Grade 8
Directions:
Read each passage carefully and respond completely to the writing prompt. Your writing should show that you
can organize and express your thoughts clearly and that you have responded completely to the writing prompt.
You are required to write your response in English. Responses written in languages other than English will not
be scored. You may NOT use a dictionary. If you aren’t sure how to spell a word, spell it the best way you can.
Manage your time carefully so that you can read the passages and plan, write, revise, and edit your response. A
planning sheet has been provided for you. You may use the front and back of this planning sheet to jot down
ideas, plan, and organize (prewrite, cluster, map, or web) what you’ll write. It is important to use the planning
sheet to plan what you will write, but make sure that you allow enough time to complete your response in your
answer sheet. The writing on your planning sheet will NOT be scored. Only the response you enter in your
answer sheet will be scored. You have up to 120 minutes to read, plan, write, revise, and edit your response.
Writing Prompt:
After reading, “The Internet Brings Us Together” and “The Internet Damages Human Connections”,
write an informative essay in which you compare and contrast how the internet impacts family life
and relationships. Support your response with evidence from the text.
Passage #1
The Internet Damages Human Connections
Usually, communication brings people together. And yet the Internet, which lets people share words, pictures,
and video, has actually led to greater isolation.
Contrary to expectation, many researchers have found that Internet use actually makes people feel
disconnected and isolated. For instance, a 1998 study found that as people used the Internet more, they
communicated with family members less. In addition, their social circle contracted, and they suffered more
from depression and loneliness. A 2005 study at a leading American research university had similar results.
Internet users spent 70 minutes less interacting with family per day than non-Internet users. Internet use also
reduced interaction with coworkers.
The Importance of Face-to-Face Interaction
How is it possible for someone to engage with others on the Internet but still feel isolated or lonely? The
answer is quality communication; interacting online is not the same as interacting face to face. Talking to
someone in person is an intense experience that demands full attention. Body language—whether a smile,
smirk, or a shrug—communicates just as much as the words themselves, something that is lost with most
online conversations. Face-to-face interactions are spontaneous, interactive, and personalized in such a way
that neither an email nor a social media update can ever fulfill. While online communication is useful for
sharing information, it is not as satisfying as developing strong relationships.
Increasingly, the Internet doesn’t supplement other types of communication—it replaces them. According to
one 2000 study, 27 percent of heavy Internet users reported spending less time talking to friends and family
over the phone. Another 15 percent spent less time physically with friends and family. As people spend
increasing amounts of time online, both at home and via mobile devices outside the home, in-person
interaction is likely to continue decreasing.
Preventing the Isolation of the Internet
So, how can people push back against the isolating impact of the Internet? There are lots of possibilities.
Families can set limits and rules about the amount of time family members devote to the Internet. Or, they can
identify places in the house, like the dining room, free of laptops or cell phones or televisions, so that people
have an opportunity to talk to each other instead of their machines. At work, individuals can make an effort to
get up and meet with each other face-to-face, rather than just sending an email. And individuals can make an
effort to join actual communities or clubs in their neighborhoods or cities, or to go out with friends, as opposed
to simply updating a status profile or putting up another notification online.
Of course, staying offline altogether is neither possible nor desirable for most people. The Internet is a useful
tool for research, shopping, and even for keeping in touch. The key is not to dispense with it, but to make sure
that those who use it are aware of its limitations. Despite its usefulness, the Internet will never be as intimate,
spontaneous, or meaningful as spending time face-to-face with other people.
Passage #2
The Internet Brings Us Together
When widespread use of television grew throughout the 1950s, many Americans marveled at the new
technology, but others were concerned. Some worried that families would spend less time together, talking
about their day or what was going on in the world. They imagined that children would become absorbed in the
black box and we would soon produce generations of illiterate adults. In fact, television was just the latest in a
long line of inventions predicted to cause great societal ills. In recent years, people have worried that video
games would turn sweet adolescents into aggressive teenagers. More recently, people worried that cell phones
would contribute to social isolation, rudeness, and possibly brain damage. Even electricity provoked a moral
panic at first.
So it’s no surprise that widespread use of the Internet has led to a lot of fears. Nor is it a surprise that many of
these fears are unwarranted. One of the most-discussed worries involves social isolation and loneliness. The
Internet, the argument goes, keeps people from communicating face to face. As a result, people become isolated
and depressed. Thus, some believe that the Internet, the greatest technology ever invented for communication,
will somehow socially isolate rather than increase their connectedness.
Promoting Social Connection through the Internet
It is true that some early studies indicated a connection between Internet use and social isolation. More recent
studies, however, haven’t confirmed that link. Some have found no correlation at all between the Internet and
social connection. Others, though, have found that the Internet actually reduces loneliness and increases social
interaction.
For instance, a university research team in 1998 found a link between Internet use and social isolation. But
after more research, the study’s author reversed himself; he found a strong positive link between Internet use,
happiness, and social interaction. Along the same lines, in 2009 a trusted American polling center found that
social isolation in America remained basically unchanged since 1985. The study also found frequent Internet
users were more likely than non-users to talk to neighbors and more likely to engage in social activities like
visiting a cafe or library.
One additional recent study focused on the elderly found that those who used the Internet were far less likely
to feel lonely than those who did not. In fact, 63 percent of the elderly Internet users said they never felt lonely.
Those reporting that they did not use the Internet and were never lonely entailed only 38 percent. For those
elderly who live alone, feeling isolated could have negative health effects. Therefore, researchers are confident
that connecting the elderly population to the Internet could provide significant health benefits.
Better Communications with Friends and Family
Putting aside the findings of researchers, there are plenty of common-sense reasons to believe that the Internet
decreases loneliness. For instance, the Internet is a huge social boon for people in remote locations. It also
helps people with health conditions who have difficulty leaving home to run errands and take care of business.
Moreover, as families have grown, moved to new locations, and spread out geographically, the Internet
provides an easy, inexpensive way to keep in touch. Not long ago, if a man lived in New York and his sister lived
in Tokyo, the siblings might have spent large amounts of money talking to each other over the phone.
Alternatively, they could have written letters that took several days, sometimes even weeks, to deliver. Now,
the same brother and sister can communicate every day on social media sites, using videoconferencing
software, or correspond by email. Surely that decreases their isolation.
The Internet is an incredibly powerful tool with enormous potential for good. It is not destroying communities
or isolating individuals, any more than television, cars, electricity, or telephones destroyed communities and
isolated individuals in times past. In fact, the Internet has the potential to increasingly connect individuals with
more flexibility than ever before.
Student Name: __________________________________
PLANNING SHEET
Remember, use this sheet for planning what you will write. The writing on this sheet will NOT be scored. Only
the writing on the answer sheet will be scored.
Writing Prompt: After reading, “The Internet Brings Us Together” and “The Internet Damages Human
Connections”, write an informative essay in which you compare and contrast how the internet impacts family
life and relationships. Support your response with evidence from the text.
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Student Name:__________________________________
English/Language Arts Teacher:_____________________
Date:______________
ANSWER SHEET
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