Read the article. Classify each sentence below as a Main Idea, a Supporting Detail, or Irrelevant for a summary.
Twenty years ago, the average American got their news from a handful of evening broadcasts and a folded newspaper. Where do you get your news now — and can you honestly say you remember the last time you checked only once a day? The answer, for most people, is no.
Take Jordan Mills, a 19-year-old college student in Atlanta. He checks his phone within ninety seconds of waking up, scrolls through six different news apps before breakfast, and estimates he sees over 200 headlines before his first class even begins. He is, by his own admission, exhausted by information he never asked for.
He is not unusual. A 2023 Pew Research study found that 86% of American adults now get at least some of their news from a smartphone, and nearly half report feeling "worn out" by the sheer volume of news they encounter. The feed, it seems, has become both a lifeline and a burden.
Media companies insist they are simply meeting demand. Critics counter that they have manufactured it. The algorithm does not care whether a headline informs you or merely inflames you — it only cares whether you keep scrolling. Attention, once freely given, is now the most valuable currency in America.
Whatever side of that argument one takes, one thing is undeniable. The feed never sleeps, and increasingly, neither do we.
For each set of specific details, choose the best "umbrella sentence" that summarises them as one general statement.
Jordan Mills checks his phone within ninety seconds of waking up, scrolls through six different news apps before breakfast, and sees over 200 headlines before his first class begins.
A 2023 Pew Research study found that 86% of American adults now get at least some of their news from a smartphone, and nearly half report feeling "worn out".
Media companies insist they are meeting demand; critics counter that they have manufactured it.
The feed never sleeps, and increasingly, neither do we.
Choose the grammatically correct version for a summary. Remember: summaries use the simple present tense.
Choose the more formal, objective option suitable for an academic summary.
Write a full summary of the article (100–120 words) in your own words, using the present tense and a formal, objective style.
Twenty years ago, the average American got their news from a handful of evening broadcasts and a folded newspaper. Today, most people check the news constantly throughout the day.
Jordan Mills, a 19-year-old college student in Atlanta, checks his phone within ninety seconds of waking up and sees over 200 headlines before his first class begins.
A 2023 Pew Research study found that 86% of American adults now get at least some of their news from a smartphone, and nearly half report feeling "worn out".
Media companies insist they are simply meeting demand; critics counter that they have manufactured it, since algorithms are designed to maximise engagement rather than inform.
The feed never sleeps, and increasingly, neither do we.