AP English Language — Claims and Evidence — Writing Drill 1

The following is a draft of a student argumentative essay on social media and adolescent mental health, written for an AP English class. [1] Social media has been linked to rising rates of depression and anxiety among teenagers, and platforms should be required to implement stronger protections for young users. [2] The evidence for this connection is significant and should not be ignored by policymakers. [3] Studies have shown that teenagers who spend more time on social media report higher rates of depression and lower self-esteem. [4] One commonly cited study found that girls who used Instagram for more than three hours per day were significantly more likely to report depressive symptoms than those who used it less. [5] Social media platforms know about these harms. [6] Internal documents from Meta showed that the company's own researchers had found that Instagram was harmful to the mental health of teenage girls and that executives chose not to act on this information. [7] Some people argue that social media also has benefits — connecting isolated teenagers, providing communities for LGBTQ+ youth, and offering platforms for creative expression. [8] These benefits are real. [9] But they do not outweigh the harms. [10] The same platforms that provide connection also expose teenagers to cyberbullying, unrealistic body image comparisons, and algorithmically curated content designed to maximize engagement regardless of its effect on wellbeing. [11] Platforms should be required to give users under eighteen default privacy settings, limit algorithmic amplification of content linked to eating disorders or self-harm, and provide transparent reporting on the mental health effects of their products. [12] These are reasonable steps that would reduce harm without eliminating the benefits social media provides. [13] The question is not whether to act but whether policymakers have the will to do so.