PSAT Writing and Language Practice Question 33
Question: 33
Screen Time Woes
1 In the 1980s and 1990s, cultural critics had begun to express concern that Americans watched too much television. The numbers varied, but it was widely touted that Americans spent anywhere from three to five hours a day in front of the tube. 2 Whether this was true, it certainly did present a startling finding, especially to those who were interested in promoting other media and activities.
3 All the while, TV is as good now as it has ever been in its 60-year history. Political theorists warned that too much time in front of the television would dampen people's political awareness. Nutrition activists feared that such a sedentary activity would spur an obesity epidemic. 4 Movie-theater owners cautioned that the lower-quality television could destroy the high-end film industry. Lovers of literature fretted that people no longer had the time or attention span to read the great works.
5 These criticisms are particularly apt because television has been proven to have negative effects on children's attention spans. Movies were controversial in the 1920s. The National Association of Librarians wrote a report in the 6 1940s. In this report, radio was excoriated for distracting children from life's real pursuits. The criticisms went even further back. The printing press, even early in its history as mainly a printer of Bibles, was thought to give religious messages to too many who couldn't properly 7 get the messages. Even newspapers, now a mainstay of the serious American consumer, were once considered politically subversive.
Therefore, in today's world, where the Internet seems to be the new medium of choice, we should not be so quick to criticize it in these terms. Still, as a recent survey has shown, American consumers spend more time online than they have on any other media platform in the last five years. 8 Spending more time on the Internet as of 2012, 9 American consumers in 2013 spent an average of over 5 hours a day on the Internet.
Is this increase in Internet usage a troubling change? Well, history would seem to say that it's not. 10 After all, the Internet has the advantage of being significantly more active than all those other media. In short, effective use of the Internet requires your participation in a way that TV does not. Even so, upwards of six hours a day is a tremendous amount. There must at least be some kind of change, even if it's not necessarily for the worse. 11 Some of the criticisms historically associated with television are frequently applied to Internet usage.
The writer wants to end the paragraph with a future-oriented statement that reinforces the main idea of the passage. Which choice best accomplishes this goal?
Correct Answer: C
Explanation:
Note the question! The question asks for a choice that is a future-oriented statement that reinforces the main idea of the passage, so it's testing consistency. First consider the main idea of the passage. The author discusses early criticisms of television, then explains that other forms of media faced similar criticisms when they were introduced, and then states that the Internet should not be quickly criticized. Finally, the author notes that people spend tremendous amounts of time on the Internet and states that There must at least be some kind of change that this Internet usage is causing. Check the answers to see whether they are future-oriented and reinforce the main idea of the passage. Choice (A) has some relationship to the passage's main idea, but it is focused on the present, not the future, so eliminate (A). Choice (B) mentions the future, but the idea of physical changes to the human body isn't related to the passage's main idea, so eliminate (B). Keep (C) because it describes what people will need to do in the future, and it references the main idea by drawing a contrast between simply reacting negatively to a new form of media and weighing its risks and benefits. Eliminate (D) because it doesn't mention anything related to the future, and it lacks a strong relationship to the passage's main idea. The correct answer is (C).