Website purpose

WEBSITE PURPOSE.
According to the Oxford Dictionary website or other application which enables users to communicate with each other by posting information, comments, messages, images, etc.
There are several types of social networks. Some of them are primarily for socializing with existing friends; others can help you to find specific information.
The most basic feature of these websites is a profile with a list of «friends» who are also users of the site. A profile is generated from answers to questions, such as age, location, interests, etc. Some sites allow users to upload pictures, add multimedia content or modify the look of the profile. User profiles often have a section dedicated to comments from friends and other users. To protect user privacy, social networks typically have controls that allow users to choose who can view their profile, contact them, add them to their list of contacts, and so on. Apart from chatting with your friends and meeting new people who share your interests, social networks allow you to follow pages of celebrities you are interested in or groups that post information you need.
Today social networking sites spread any information faster than any other media. Over 50% of people learn about breaking news on social media. At the same time, not all the information spread in the social media is trustworthy. There were several cases when rumors spread in a social network caused panic in Mexico City in 2012.
Many users complain about lack of privacy but, on the other hand, there are cases when posts in social networks helped police to catch criminals.
Whereas in general Internet helps students to do better at school and they often use social networks to discuss educational topics and school assignments, the researches show 20% decline in test results of students who used social networking sites while studying.
Social networks seem to have improved our communication a lot. They help not only to keep in touch with friends and relatives who live far away but also to improve relationship with old friends and make new ones. At the same time some adults and especially teenagers have experienced problems with face-to-face communication after spending too much time in online dialogues.
Although social networks help employers to find employees and job-seekers to find a job, overuse of them can harm job stability. Researches prove that 40% of 8 to 18 year olds spend 54 minutes a day on social media sites. When alerted to a new social networking site activity, users take 20 to 25 minutes on average to return to the original task.
To sum up, all these fact show us that we should be careful while using social networks. They are great source of information and give us new opportunities for communication, but we should be aware that some information may be false and misleading. And what is more, we should not waste or precious time and forget about face-to-face communication in real life.


Vocabulary:

assignment - задание

controls - средства управления
breaking news - срочная \главная новость
decline - снижение
dedicate - посвящать
face-to-face communication - живое общение
improve - улучшать
media - средства массовой информации, сми
research - исследование
social network - социальная сеть, соцсеть
trustworthy - достоверный

to be in touch with - находиться в контакте\на связи с...

Answer the questions
1. What is the definition of «Website»?
2. What types of social networks do you know? What is the difference between them?
3. What are the main features of most social networks?
4. Translate the underlined expressions. Use them in your own sentences about social networks.
5. Explain what these numbers from the text mean: 20, 50,20-25, 54, 2012

6.Why do people visit company websites?

7.Why do people visit entertainment websites?

8. Why do people visit news websites?

Present the information you collected to the group. Which are the most popular websites for each heading?