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Paired Texts > Smartphones Put Your Privacy At Risk

by Maria Temming 2018

We've identified these texts as great options for text pairings based on similar themes, literary devices, topic, or writing style. Supplement your lesson with one or more of these options and challenge students to compare and contrast the texts. To assign a paired text, click on the text to go to its page and click the "Assign Text" button there.

The PATRIOT Act: Protection over Privacy
The PATRIOT Act: Protection over Privacy
Mike Kubic

In "The PATRIOT Act: Protection over Privacy," Mike Kubic discusses the parameters of the PATRIOT Act and citizens' varying responses to it.

Pair “The Patriot Act: Protection Over Privacy” with “Smartphones Put Your Privacy At Risk” and ask students to discuss how both texts explore how people’s privacy is infringed upon. How did the PATRIOT Act impact the type of information that the government could collect from citizens? How do students think smartphones could contribute to the government’s monitoring of certain citizens?

11th Grade Informational Text 1540L
What Adolescents Miss When We Let Them Grow Up in Cyberspace
What Adolescents Miss When We Let Them Grow Up in Cyberspace
Brent Staples

In the informational text "What Adolescents Miss When We Let Them Grow Up in Cyberspace," Brent Staples discusses how teenagers today are impacted by their Internet usage.

Pair “What Adolescents Miss When We Let Them Grow Up in Cyberspace” with “Smartphones Put Your Privacy At Risk” and ask students to discuss some of the drawbacks of technology. What are the negative effects of teenagers growing up in the age of the Internet and with smartphones? How are teenagers at risk of unintentionally sharing their private information through a smartphone? Do students think teenagers are at a greater risk of doing this than adults? Why or why not?

12th Grade Opinion 1340L
Opposing Innovation
Opposing Innovation
Mike Kubic

"Opposing Innovation: The Luddite Lesson" describes the origin of the term "Luddite" and meditates on what we might learn from the stories of those who have historically opposed the implementation of new technologies.

Pair “Opposing Innovation: The Luddite Lesson” with “Smartphones Put Your Privacy At Risk” and ask students to discuss how major innovations change the world. How do the problems that arise from innovation, technological or otherwise, actually lead to further innovation and more advanced developments within a field? How do both texts support the idea that more innovation is necessary to solve the problems that innovation may cause?

11th Grade Informational Text 1350L
10 Things You Can Do to Avoid Fraud
10 Things You Can Do to Avoid Fraud
Federal Trade Commission

In the informational text "10 Things You Can Do to Avoid Fraud," the Federal Trade Commission offers 10 tips for what you can to do protect yourself against fraud.

Pair “Smartphones put your privacy at risk” with “10 Things You Can Do to Avoid Fraud” and ask students to discuss the importance of protecting one's information. How do students think smartphones could make it more difficult for people to avoid fraud? How do both texts emphasize what a person can do to avoid having their private information stolen or misused?

10th Grade Informational Text 1100L
ChatGPT Resurrected My Dead Father
ChatGPT Resurrected My Dead Father
Jon Michael Varese

In "ChatGPT Resurrected My Dead Father," the author uses his personal grief and technological background to explore one aspect of developing a more "human-like" artificial intelligence. Pair “Smartphones Put Your Privacy At Risk” with “ChatGPT Resurrected My Dead Father” and ask students to think about the privacy implications of using personal data to train large language models and chatbots. According to “Smartphones Put Your Privacy At Risk,” what are some of the ways that smartphones collect personal data, both with and without users’ knowledge? In what ways might smartphone users be even more at risk for having their privacy invaded now than they were in 2018, when this article was written? According to “Smartphones Put Your Privacy At Risk,” why is the selling of personal data problematic? What are some ways that users can protect their personal data? In “ChatGPT Resurrected My Dead Father,” the author describes the “massive amount of data” used to train large language models and other AI features. Where does the data used to train AI likely come from? Make an argument for or against the collection and selling of personal data using details from both texts to support it.

12th Grade Essay 1140L