Everyone in this room uses digital tools every day. Today the class will take a real position on a hard question about them.
Do digital technologies, especially social media, do more good than harm for people your age?
In this lesson you will:
- Hear both sides argued as strongly as possible.
- Defend a view, which may not be your own.
- Think again about where you stand, and notice whether anything you heard changed your mind.
In a debate, the motion is the statement that people argue for or against. This is today's motion.
Social media does more good than harm for people our age.
What steelmanning means
To steelman a side means to give its strongest honest version, even if you disagree with it. For example, you might think social media wastes time, but the strongest honest point on the other side is that it keeps friendships going when people cannot meet.
Your first position
Before you hear any arguments, decide whether you agree, disagree or are not sure, and be honest, because you will stand on the line in the next step.
- Read the motion one more time: Social media does more good than harm for people our age.
- Decide where you stand right now and go to that part of the room, with agree at one end, disagree at the other and not sure in the middle. Do not explain your choice yet.
- You do not move anything on a screen yourself. There are six markers on the board. Each one stands for one group of people standing together in the room, and your teacher drags it to where that group is standing, so the line on the board looks like the room.
- Look at how the class is spread out, but do not try to persuade anyone yet.
After the debate, you will come back to this line and place yourself again.
Where you stand now
Your teacher splits the class into one side for and one side against the motion: Social media does more good than harm for people our age.
| Stage | Time | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Prepare | 5 min | Your side has two speakers, chosen by your teacher: an opener, who gives the opening statement, and a steelmanner, who puts the other side's case. Together, pick your two strongest points from your list below, or use a point of your own that is not on the list. Finish this sentence for each one, using the example or one of your own: Our strongest point is… because… |
| 2. Opening statements | 2 min each | The For side's opener speaks first, then the Against side's opener. Nobody interrupts. |
| 3. Steelman | 90 seconds each | Each side's steelmanner explains the other side's argument so fairly that the other side would agree with how it was put. |
| 4. Open floor | About 20 seconds each | Anyone can make a short comment, up to four comments for the whole class. |
Argue against ideas, never people. If you give an example, use made-up names, and never point at anyone in the room.
| For the motion | Against the motion |
|---|---|
| Connection: keeps friendships going when people cannot meet, and helps new students find their group. For example, a student who moves school keeps in touch with old friends in a group chat. | Comparison and pressure: highlight reels, which show only the best moments of people's lives, push people to compare themselves with edited versions of others. For example, someone scrolls through friends' holiday photos and feels their own summer was boring. |
| Learning and interests: tutorials, hobby communities, language practice and exam tips that are hard to find offline. For example, someone teaching themselves guitar follows a free video lesson every evening. | Privacy and permanence: posts, screenshots and location data last long after the moment and can be used in ways the poster never meant. For example, a joke photo in a group chat is screenshotted and passed around the school a year later. |
| Voice and creativity: people your age can make things and be heard without waiting for an adult to let them. For example, a student posts a short film they made and gets comments from people they have never met. | False or twisted claims: rumours travel faster than corrections, and angry content spreads especially well. For example, a rumour that school is closed spreads in minutes, and the correction reaches far fewer people. |
| Support and information: reliable advice, and people who have been through the same thing, can be found quickly when something is hard. For example, someone nervous about a hospital visit reads how other young people got through it. | Time, sleep and attention: feeds are designed to hold you, crowding out rest, schoolwork and face-to-face time. For example, someone means to watch one video at bedtime and is still scrolling an hour later. |
| Belonging: fans of the same music, sport or cause can find people like them online, even when there is nothing like it nearby. For example, the only fan of a sport in a small town finds a whole club of fans online. | Hurt and being left out: pile-ons, where lots of people gang up on one person, being left out of group chats, and mean comments all hurt and are hard to switch off. For example, a student sees photos in a group chat of a party they were not invited to. |
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