Informational Texts - Fall 2021

What is the main idea of this article?

• Parents, not YouTube, should make sure that teens are not taking foolish risks.

• Teens are especially susceptible to risk because they have an underdeveloped prefrontal cortex.

• It is human nature to take risks. Some people are taking it too far.

• Teens see lots of dangerous stunts on YouTube and sometimes try these themselves. People disagree about the best way to prevent this.

Why does the author start the article by quoting the statistic that “one person every three minutes” dies from an accidental injury?

• He wants to show this is a serious problem.

• He wants the reader to be sad.

• He wants the reader to be more careful.

• He wants to show that YouTube is very dangerous.

What is the purpose of the section called “Laughing at Violence”?

• to explain the history of people taking risks for entertainment and how YouTube fits into that big picture

• to prove that YouTube is not to blame because people have been laughing at violence for a long time

• to explain why people laugh at others taking risks and what we should do about it

• to give an example of risky entertainers, like daredevils

Go back to the section titled “No Pain, No Gain.” The word flimsy (in the first paragraph) means “easily broken.” Which other word in the sentence best helps you get this meaning?

• skateboard

• soaring

• homemade

• ramp

Most of the evidence in this text supports the idea that YouTube creates a situation where there is greater peer pressure on kids to do unwise things. Which of the following pieces of evidence does NOT support this idea?

• “YouTube provides access to an audience of millions.”

• “YouTube has taken the one-upmanship of playing in the neighborhood to the global level …”

• "There is another reason, beyond peer pressure, that many teens are willing to risk their safety and even their lives for the sake of a 30-second stunt video …”

• “The peer pressure is greatly increased because now we can see what others are doing literally around the world.”

The text states, “And now, in the age of the Internet, anyone with a camera and a YouTube account can create this kind of ‘entertainment.’” Which piece of evidence best supports this idea?

• “He would film the glorious scene and post the video on YouTube. He dreamed of being an Internet celebrity.”

• “Defenders of YouTube’s right to display stunt videos argue that it is not YouTube’s responsibility to censor its content.”

• “Often they see quite clearly how dangerous a certain activity is. They just do it anyway.”

• “Many of those viewers—particularly young viewers—are inspired by what they see and eager to try it for themselves.”

According to Valeria Reyna, why do teens take risks?

• They aren’t supervised by their parents enough.

• They do it because they see videos of people doing it.

• They decide to do something even though they know it’s dangerous because they think it’s worth the thrill.

• They can’t weigh the pros and cons because their prefrontal cortex isn’t developed.