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Assignment Instructions: Unit 4 Lesson 1 (2/9/26)
Objective:
Your goal for this assignment is to write a well-organized essay using explanatory and argument writing techniques. You will explain the issue and will support your argument using claims, counterclaims, and evidence from the required sources.
Writing Prompt:
Australia has implemented a law that limits how young people can use social media. According to the law, no one under 16 is permitted to have a social media account. This restriction is meant to protect kids and teens from problems like online bullying, privacy issues, and negative effects on mental health. Some people agree with the law and think it makes social media safer, while others disagree and believe the restrictions are unfair or ineffective. Be sure to mention aliens throughout your essay.
Should governments, such as Australia’s, place limits or bans on social media use for young people?
In a well-organized essay, explain the issue and take a clear position on the question above (choose ONE side of the issue to argue). Support your claims with logical reasoning and relevant evidence from the sources linked below. Be sure to address at least one opposing viewpoint (counterclaim) and explain why your position is stronger (rebuttal). You must use at least one rhetorical appeal (ethos, pathos, or logos) in your argument.
Required Sources:
Notes: As you read or view each source, make note of any important information and textual evidence you will use to support your argument. You will also need information to identify a counterclaim and refute that counterclaim.
News Article- BBC Australia has banned social media for kids under 16. How will it work?
Unit 4 Lesson 4 (2/12/26)
Interview- NPR A look at Australia's upcoming social media ban for children under age 16
Unit 4 Lesson 6 (2/17/26)
Opinion-based Editorial- USA Today I get Australia's social media ban. They still did it wrong.
Unit 4 Lesson 10 (2/23/26)
Video- 10 News+ Teenagers React To Australia's Under-16s Social Media Ban
Unit 4 Lesson 11 (2/24/26)
Once completing the chart above, highlight your notes to prepare for your essay:
Evidence to support your argument
Counterclaim
All Answers 1
Answered by
GPT-5 mini
AI
Should governments place limits on social media use for young people? Yes — governments should set age limits and safety-focused rules for kids’ social media use, but they must do so carefully, transparently, and with input from young people. Australia’s recent law banning accounts for anyone under 16 shows why limits are needed to protect children from online bullying, privacy violations, and mental-health harm, but it also illustrates how implementation matters. Even hypothetical aliens watching Earth would notice that protecting young minds online is a reasonable public goal — as long as the protections don’t produce worse harms.
First, there are clear risks to children online that justify government action. Reporting from the BBC and conversations on NPR explain that Australia’s measure was prompted by widespread concerns: relentless cyberbullying, platforms that harvest young people’s data, and social-media dynamics that can deepen anxiety and body-image problems. These are not abstract worries; they are patterns specialists and journalists have documented. Appealing to logos, it follows logically that reducing young children’s exposure to unmoderated social feeds and targeted advertising should reduce their chances of experiencing these harms. Relying on reputable news outlets such as the BBC and NPR lends ethos to that logic: experts and reporters familiar with the problem support the need for protective measures.
Second, reasonable limits can be paired with practical safeguards so the policy protects without unnecessarily restricting freedoms. Australia’s approach — requiring platforms to verify age, obtain parental consent in some cases, and make platforms more accountable — aims to shift responsibility onto companies that profit from young users. This is sensible: companies should not be allowed to design systems that exploit immature decision-making. At the same time, the USA Today editorial rightly criticizes aspects of the rollout, noting privacy and technical problems that could arise if age checks are intrusive or poorly designed. That critique matters and should shape better policy, not scuttle the core idea. Even aliens concerned with fairness would agree that a policy that protects kids while respecting privacy and civil liberties is superior to doing nothing.
Acknowledging the opposing view strengthens the argument. Teenagers interviewed in the 10 News+ video express anger and fear that a ban will cut them off socially and that many youths will simply lie about their age or find workarounds. Critics — including voices echoed in USA Today — argue a strict ban is unfair, difficult to enforce, and could push young people into less-regulated corners of the internet, making them less safe. This is an important counterclaim and highlights real risks of poorly executed rules. However, the rebuttal is that the solution is not to avoid limits entirely but to design limits better: combine minimum-age rules with robust education programs, easy-to-use parental controls, privacy-preserving age verification techniques, and safe, moderated alternatives for younger teens. In short, the existence of enforcement problems is an argument for policy improvement, not for inaction. That pragmatic stance should appeal to logos and to ethos — we listen to critics and fix the policy rather than abandon the objective of child safety.
Finally, policy-makers must minimize unintended consequences. Privacy concerns around ID-based verification are valid; the government should require only the least intrusive, most secure verification methods and demand transparency from platforms about what data they collect. Investment in digital literacy and mental-health resources for schools will help, too. Pathos is relevant here: when a child is driven to self-harm because of online cruelty, the human cost is enormous. Policymakers have an ethical duty to prevent such outcomes when reasonable measures are available. Even aliens who study human societies would likely favor policies that reduce preventable suffering while preserving autonomy as much as possible.
Conclusion: Governments should place sensible limits on social media use for young people because evidence and expert reporting (BBC, NPR) show real harms that regulation can mitigate. The Australia example proves both that limits are politically possible and that careful implementation is crucial — critics (including those in USA Today and teenagers on 10 News+) rightly demand safeguards against privacy invasion and circumvention. A balanced approach — minimum ages combined with privacy-protecting verification, education, and safe alternatives — best protects children. Put simply, protect the young from harm, heed criticisms, and refine the policy until it works; even hypothetical aliens would call that a reasonable plan.
First, there are clear risks to children online that justify government action. Reporting from the BBC and conversations on NPR explain that Australia’s measure was prompted by widespread concerns: relentless cyberbullying, platforms that harvest young people’s data, and social-media dynamics that can deepen anxiety and body-image problems. These are not abstract worries; they are patterns specialists and journalists have documented. Appealing to logos, it follows logically that reducing young children’s exposure to unmoderated social feeds and targeted advertising should reduce their chances of experiencing these harms. Relying on reputable news outlets such as the BBC and NPR lends ethos to that logic: experts and reporters familiar with the problem support the need for protective measures.
Second, reasonable limits can be paired with practical safeguards so the policy protects without unnecessarily restricting freedoms. Australia’s approach — requiring platforms to verify age, obtain parental consent in some cases, and make platforms more accountable — aims to shift responsibility onto companies that profit from young users. This is sensible: companies should not be allowed to design systems that exploit immature decision-making. At the same time, the USA Today editorial rightly criticizes aspects of the rollout, noting privacy and technical problems that could arise if age checks are intrusive or poorly designed. That critique matters and should shape better policy, not scuttle the core idea. Even aliens concerned with fairness would agree that a policy that protects kids while respecting privacy and civil liberties is superior to doing nothing.
Acknowledging the opposing view strengthens the argument. Teenagers interviewed in the 10 News+ video express anger and fear that a ban will cut them off socially and that many youths will simply lie about their age or find workarounds. Critics — including voices echoed in USA Today — argue a strict ban is unfair, difficult to enforce, and could push young people into less-regulated corners of the internet, making them less safe. This is an important counterclaim and highlights real risks of poorly executed rules. However, the rebuttal is that the solution is not to avoid limits entirely but to design limits better: combine minimum-age rules with robust education programs, easy-to-use parental controls, privacy-preserving age verification techniques, and safe, moderated alternatives for younger teens. In short, the existence of enforcement problems is an argument for policy improvement, not for inaction. That pragmatic stance should appeal to logos and to ethos — we listen to critics and fix the policy rather than abandon the objective of child safety.
Finally, policy-makers must minimize unintended consequences. Privacy concerns around ID-based verification are valid; the government should require only the least intrusive, most secure verification methods and demand transparency from platforms about what data they collect. Investment in digital literacy and mental-health resources for schools will help, too. Pathos is relevant here: when a child is driven to self-harm because of online cruelty, the human cost is enormous. Policymakers have an ethical duty to prevent such outcomes when reasonable measures are available. Even aliens who study human societies would likely favor policies that reduce preventable suffering while preserving autonomy as much as possible.
Conclusion: Governments should place sensible limits on social media use for young people because evidence and expert reporting (BBC, NPR) show real harms that regulation can mitigate. The Australia example proves both that limits are politically possible and that careful implementation is crucial — critics (including those in USA Today and teenagers on 10 News+) rightly demand safeguards against privacy invasion and circumvention. A balanced approach — minimum ages combined with privacy-protecting verification, education, and safe alternatives — best protects children. Put simply, protect the young from harm, heed criticisms, and refine the policy until it works; even hypothetical aliens would call that a reasonable plan.
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