2024年度入試
記述問題（英語）
Read the following passage and answer the questions.
次の英文を読んで、下の設問に答えなさい.
Introduction
1. In 2021, more than half of the world's population, totaling 4.3 billion people,
had social media accounts, spending an average of approximately two and ahalf hours per day on social media platforms (GWI, 2021; We Are Social,2021). Few technologies have had such a major impact on people's daily lives
and social interactions since the creation of television. This passage is asummary of research that evaluated the relationship between the introduction ofFacebook to American university students and their state of mental health.
2. As social media gained popularity in the mid-2000s, the mental health ofadolescents and young adults in the United States began to deteriorate (Patelet al., 2007; Twenge et al., 2019). For example, between 2008 and 2018, thenumber of individuals aged 18–23 that reported experiencing a depressive
episode in the past year increased by 83 percent (NSDUH, 2019) and suicides
among individuals aged 15–24 became more prevalent, even becoming thesecond leading cause of death in this age group (NCHS, 2021). The exact
causes of these trends remain largely unknown, but some scholars havesuggested that the widespread use of social media may be a significant
contributing factor (Twenge et al., 2019). However, conclusive evidence
regarding the relationship between social media use and mental health is still
limited.
3. The research summarized in this excerpt presented empirical evidence of theinfluence of social media on mental health by examining a unique phenomenon:
the phased introduction of Facebook at various US colleges in the mid-2000s.
Through empirical analysis, the researchers discovered that the introduction ofFacebook had a detrimental effect on student mental health. The researchers
also observed that students were more likely to report that their academic
performance was negatively affected by poor mental health after the introductionof Facebook. Furthermore, there is additional evidence supporting the idea thatthese results are consistent with Facebook's role in facilitating unfavorablesocial comparisons among students.

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History
4. Facebook was initially launched at Harvard in February 2004 and gradually
introduced to other colleges in the United States and abroad over the next two
and a half years. The staggered rollout was implemented by requiring users tohave verified email addresses, such as those ending in "@harvard.edu." The
expansion of Facebook across US colleges was not random; more selective
colleges gained access to Facebook earlier than less selective ones. The
phased expansion can be attributed to three factors: first, limitations in server
capacity; second, Facebook's desire to maintain a sense of exclusivity; andthird, Facebook’s goal of strengthening network effects by ensuring a highpercentage of users were acquainted with each other offline.
5. Even in its early stages, Facebook gained tremendous popularity, quickly
becoming widely adopted by students once granted access. Data fromFacebook reveals that, on average, from the colleges that had access, there
were 86 Facebook users for every 100 undergraduate students in September
2005 (Arrington, 2005). Usage of the platform was also intensive, withapproximately three-quarters of users logging in at least once a day and theaverage user logging in six times per day in early 2006 (Hass, 2006). Despite
not yet being accessible to the general public, Facebook became the ninth
most visited website on the internet by early 2006 (Hass, 2006).
Data Sets
6. The first dataset contains information on the dates when Facebook wasintroduced at 775 US colleges. For the first 100 colleges, the authors of thisresearch obtained introduction dates from previous studies (Traud et al., 2012;Jacobs et al., 2015). To determine the introduction dates for the remaining 675
colleges, the researchers utilized the Wayback Machine, an online archive that
stores snapshots of websites at different time points. By examining snapshotsof Facebook's front page from spring 2004 to spring 2005, the researchers
reconstructed the introduction dates for each college and created a Facebook
expansion dates dataset that lists each college and the corresponding dates ofFacebook's introduction at each institution.

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7. The second dataset comprises responses from over 430,000 individuals
participating in seventeen consecutive distributions of the National College
Health Assessment (NCHA) survey, which focuses on the mental and physicalhealth of college students. The NCHA survey was developed in 1998 to gather
information on various aspects of student health, including demographics,
physical health, mental health, substance use, sexual behavior, and perceptionsof peers' behaviors. The survey includes questions about symptoms of mentalillness and the utilization of mental healthcare services. This dataset allowed
the researchers to determine whether a survey respondent attended a collegewith Facebook access at the time of participation. Notably, the NCHA survey
does not include questions about social media use, making it impossible todirectly link individual respondents to having a Facebook account. However, thedataset enabled the researchers to examine the mental health outcomes ofstudents attending colleges with Facebook access during the survey period.
Research Results
8. Overall, the researchers found evidence that indicated a negative impact ofFacebook's introduction at colleges on student mental health. The results alsosuggest that the negative effects are more severe among students who arepredicted to be more vulnerable to mental illness based on factors like genderand age. Furthermore, longer exposure to Facebook is associated withintensified negative effects on mental health. The findings align with thehypothesis that Facebook contributes to unfavorable social comparisons amongstudents. However, readers should be careful when interpreting the results due
to limitations such as the inability to account for later social media features,
potential measurement errors in self-reports, and the focus on a specificdemographic group. Future research should explore the effects of social media
on mental health among other demographic groups and consider the evolving
nature of social media platforms.
Adapted from:
Braghieri, L., Levy, R. E., & Makarin, A. (2022). Social media and mentalhealth. American Economic Review, 112(11), 3660-3693.
DOI: 10.1257/aer.20211218

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Answer all four sections. All answers should be written in the designated partsof the answer booklet.
4つのセクションすべてに解答しなさい。
各問題の解答は、それぞれ指定された解答用紙に記入すること。
SECTION 1: True/False Questions
Read each sentence and circle the correct answer in the answer booklet.
Example:There are eight paragraphs in the passage.
TRUE/FALSE

1) The passage discusses the impact of the introduction of Facebook on the mental
health of university students worldwide.
TRUE/FALSE2) The increase in depression among university students is definitely attributed to thewidespread use of social media.
TRUE/

FALSE

3) The research examined the introduction of Facebook at various colleges at different
times to provide evidence of its effect on mental health.
TRUE/

FALSE

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4) The phased expansion of Facebook across US colleges was only due to limitations
in server capacity.
TRUE

5)

/

FALSE

Usage data from the early stages of Facebook showed that it became one of theleast visited websites on the internet by early 2006.

TRUE/

FALSE

6) The researchers determined introduction dates for colleges by directly asking
college students about when they gained access to Facebook.
TRUE/

FALSE

7) The NCHA survey includes questions about individual respondents' social media
use and their possession of a Facebook account.
TRUE/

FALSE

8) One of the research findings suggested that Facebook most strongly affects thosestudents who are already vulnerable to mental illness based on gender and age.
TRUE/

FALSE

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SECTION 2: Multiple-choice questions
Read each question and circle the correct answer in the answer booklet.

9) What is the main idea of the passage? (Introduction)
1) The history of social media platforms
2) The impact of Facebook on the mental health of American university
students
3) The popularity of social media in the mid-2000s
4) The introduction of Facebook to the general public10) Which of the following words can be used as a synonym for "deteriorate" as usedin the passage (paragraph 2, line2)?
1) Develop2) Improve3) Decline
4) Expand11) In the context of the passage, what does the word "empirical" mean (paragraph3, line 1)?
1) An idea that has no real-world use2) Something people commonly believe3) Information obtained from tests and observations4) A point of view that is influenced by emotions
12) What is one reason for the phased introduction of Facebook to different
colleges? (paragraph 4)
1) To establish a sense of exclusivity2) To increase server capacity
3) To promote public access4) To encourage offline networking

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13) Why did Facebook become popular even before being accessible to the generalpublic? (paragraph 5)1) Due to its advanced features2) Because it was promoted by universities
3) Because it was widely advertised4) Due to its popularity among college students
14) How did the researchers determine the introduction dates of Facebook at variouscolleges? (paragraph 6)
1) By directly asking college students
2) By analyzing server capacity
3) By using the Wayback Machine4) By examining official Facebook records15) What aspect of college students' health does the National College Health
Assessment (NCHA) survey focus on? (paragraph 7)
1) Only physical health2) Only mental health
3) Both physical and mental health4) Only social media usage
16) What was one of the conclusions drawn from the research findings? (paragraph8)1) Facebook has no impact on mental health2) Social media platforms are completely harmless
3) Vulnerable students are not affected by social media
4) Longer exposure to Facebook intensifies negative effects on mental health7

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SECTION 3: Summary question
Read the question and write your answer in English.
17)Write a summary of the section called “History” (paragraphs 4 and 5).
Explain how Facebook was developed and introduced to society in the 2000’s.
Include information about how Facebook grew to become one of the mostpopular forms of social media. Your answer should be about 10 lines oftext. Write your answer in the answer booklet.
IMPORTANT NOTE: You may use some key words from the passage in youranswer, but do NOT copy sentences from the passage. Points will not be given
for copied sentences.

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SECTION 4: Short response question
Read the question and write your answer in English.
18) The passage discussed the impact of social media on the mental health ofuniversity students. What are your views about the relationship between social
media and mental health? Discuss your opinions in relation to the ideas in thepassage. Support your answer by giving and explaining examples. It is
recommended that you give examples of what you have studied or learned
from other sources. Your answer should be about 15 lines of text. Write youranswer in the answer booklet.

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