Ejercicio A · Inglés PAU Madrid Extraordinaria (2ª lengua) 2021

TEXTO A

Protecting Children from Violence

There has been a lot of violence in the world in the past few weeks and many of our children have been watching it. That’s not a good thing. Between mainstream media and social media, violence reaches far past the places and people it directly strikes. Whether it’s the latest shooting, the latest terrorist attack, or some other act of violence, television and other media are fond of showing it. The recent rise in cell phone videos shared on social media, often raw and shocking, has increased the prevalence and reach of violence even further. And on top of that, we must not forget the violence in movies and video games, so popular among kids and teens.

The last comprehensive assessment of “screen” violence was done in 1998. It found that the typical child will have seen 8,000 murders and 100,000 other acts of violence before middle school. That was 18 years ago, 7 years before YouTube began and 9 years before the first iPhone was released. Just think what those numbers are now.

The American Academy of Pediatrics wants people to understand that exposure to “virtual” violence, through news, social and entertainment media, can be harmful for children. Multiple studies have shown that children exposed to violence may be more aggressive, and they may have behavioral problems. They may also become desensitized to violence, which may be the worst outcome. Imagine a generation of children growing up thinking that violence is acceptable and unremarkable.

Every person is different; some are likely to be more vulnerable than others. But as the aforementioned Academy points out, given how wide the exposure is, even just a small percentage can end up being inevitably affected.

Adapted from “Protecting children from the dangers of virtual violence”. Harvard Health Publishing, 2 August, 2016. <https://rb.gy/tyycnp>

QUESTIONS

A.1.- Are the following statements TRUE or FALSE? Copy the evidence from the text. No marks are given for only TRUE or FALSE.

(Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

a)

Media love displaying violent content.

TRUE

FALSE

b)

No studies of audio-visual violence have been carried out before the 21 st century.

TRUE

FALSE

A.2.- In your own words and based on the ideas in the text, answer the following questions. Do not copy from the text.

(Puntuación máxima: 2 puntos)

a)

How have mobile phones contributed to the spread of violence?

b)

Explain two of the effects that online violence has on children.