Question

ead the claim.

The overuse of social media has led to a decline in the academic performance of this country’s high school students.

Which reasons are logically sound and could be used to support the claim? Select two options.

High school students are spending more time on social media than they are studying and completing homework.
Grades at a specific high school are worse this year than they were 20 years ago, when social media was not a distraction.
Social media is causing many problems in society, including a lack of attention and a more negative attitude toward education among students in my neighborhood.
You can read several articles about students around the country causing problems at school rather than focusing on academics.
Standardized test scores dropped or remained stagnant in many states in 2017, which was the peak year to date for social media use.

Answer 1

- High school students are spending more time on social media than they are studying and completing homework.
- Standardized test scores dropped or remained stagnant in many states in 2017, which was the peak year to date for social media use.

Why: The first shows a plausible mechanism (time displacement of study), and the second gives broad, time-aligned empirical evidence across many states. The other choices are anecdotal, local, or indirect and therefore weaker as support for a nationwide causal claim.