Klas 2 - H5 - Les C Reading

• Engels
• Middelbare school
• havo
• Leerjaar 2

We’re going to read a text about a social media challenge called #trashtag in which many people took part worldwide. Write down two other social media challenges that you’ve heard of. Have you participated in these? Why (not)?

Strategy!

When you answer questions about a text, always stick to the information provided in the text. We tend to keep the knowledge we have about the theme or subject in mind while answering.

Follow these steps when answering the question:

– What is exactly said in the text?

– Which words prove that your answer is correct?

– How can you prove that the other answers are incorrect?

HOW #TRASHTAG INSPIRED PEOPLE WORLDWIDE

[paragraph 1.] #trashtag challenge

Garbage hardly makes for a good Instagram backdrop. But recently, the #trashtag challenge had people all over the world posing with heaps of trash bags, taking before-and-after shots of areas in dire need of a good cleaning. The first post with this hashtag showed two photos: one of a guy sitting in a landscape full of litter, and another of him standing triumphantly next to nine garbage bags and a shovel. This picture soon went viral and generated numerous photos, as well as hundreds of thousands of likes and mentions on Reddit, Instagram and Twitter. What’s more: thousands of people decided to go out and tackle the trash problems themselves. Volunteers gathered to clean up their local parks and rivers; groups of friends took to the beaches, picking up piles of cans and plastic bottles – all connected through a single hashtag: #trashtag.

What is the main function of the first paragraph?

1. Getting you to think about how you use social media
2. Showing how big the garbage problem is.
3. Telling you what the #trashtag challenge was all about

[paragraph 2.] Real change

This social media challenge was a welcome change in many ways. First of all from weird and dangerous Internet trends that had teens eating spoonsful of cinnamon or jumping out of moving cars. Secondly, from people carelessly taking selfies in nature, sometimes damaging the natural surroundings while doing so. And more often than not, hashtag activism has been confused with real action. This trashtag challenge, however, was one of those rare social media movements that actually transformed to real, instant change on the ground – even if some were only doing it for bragging rights.

This paragraph describes three ways in which the #trashtag challenge differed from other online challenges. Write down two of them.

Example key: 

It was not a dangerous challenge. It did not damage nature but took care of it. It involved actual action instead of just online posts.

[paragraph 3.] Lack of concern

Should it have taken the appeal of the instant happiness of likes to spark enthusiasm for keeping communities clean? Ideally, no. The impact of trash already hit close to home for many. In some countries, littering has caused rat infestation in cities, and pollution slowly seeps into the water supply, creating a health hazard. However, as some people have argued, the real threat to the environment isn’t so much pollution itself as the fact that people don’t seem to notice it or care about it anymore. A recent poll found that Americans care less about environmental issues now than they did back the in 80s and 90s, with concern largely dropping in the 2000s. 

 This is an interesting phenomenon, because the actual concerns have become bigger. One explanation for the lack of interest is the fact that some of the heaviest consequences of pollution happen out of sight – and, therefore: out of mind, such as the Antarctic ice caps melting. Another reason why people seem to be less concerned is because the problem is a relatively slow-moving threat. Social media platforms are not slow-moving though. They work at an incredibly high speed and this example shows that they can enable people to connect, unite and call for action worldwide. The challenge is keeping the momentum going.

However, as some people have argued, the real threat to the environment isn’t so much pollution itself as the fact that people don’t seem to notice it or care about it anymore.’
Write down in your own words the two reasons this paragraph gives for the fact that ‘people (...) don’t care about’ threats to the environment.

Example key:

It’s a slow-moving threat and the real pollution is happening mostly out of sight.

What is the author’s general opinion on the #trashtag challenge and its impact, do you think? Explain your answer.

Choose from:
positive - negative - neutral

What is the main purpose of How #trashtag inspired people worldwide?

1. convincing the reader to join the challenge
2. explaining how the world suffers from new technologies
3. showing how social media can be used for a good cause