Social media platforms began experiencing what researchers call "engagement fatigue" among users in late 2022, with declining interaction rates across...
GMAT Craft and Structure : (Structure) Questions
Social media platforms began experiencing what researchers call "engagement fatigue" among users in late 2022, with declining interaction rates across major platforms despite increased content production. This phenomenon emerged as users reported feeling overwhelmed by constant notifications and algorithmic pressure to maintain online presence. In response, several platforms introduced "mindful engagement" features, including notification scheduling, content curation controls, and screen-time management tools. These innovations appear to be reversing the engagement decline, with preliminary data showing improved user satisfaction and more sustainable interaction patterns across demographics.
Which choice best describes the overall structure of the text?
It presents competing theories about social media usage, examines evidence supporting each theory, and then argues that additional research is needed.
It identifies a technological problem, explains the causes of that problem, describes solutions that were implemented, and then evaluates the effectiveness of those solutions.
It describes a cultural shift, contrasts that shift with previous patterns, and then speculates about future developments in the field.
It introduces a research methodology, discusses limitations of that methodology, and then proposes improvements for future studies.
Step 1: Decode and Map the Passage
Create Passage Analysis Table
| Text from Passage | Analysis |
|---|---|
| "Social media platforms began experiencing what researchers call 'engagement fatigue' among users in late 2022, with declining interaction rates across major platforms despite increased content production." |
|
| "This phenomenon emerged as users reported feeling overwhelmed by constant notifications and algorithmic pressure to maintain online presence." |
|
| "In response, several platforms introduced 'mindful engagement' features, including notification scheduling, content curation controls, and screen-time management tools." |
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| "These innovations appear to be reversing the engagement decline, with preliminary data showing improved user satisfaction and more sustainable interaction patterns across demographics." |
|
Provide Passage Architecture & Core Elements
Main Point: Social media platforms successfully addressed user engagement fatigue by implementing mindful engagement features that appear to be working.
Argument Flow: The passage follows a classic problem-solution structure. It starts by identifying engagement fatigue as a specific problem, explains what caused it, describes the solutions platforms implemented, and then evaluates whether those solutions are working based on early data.
Step 2: Interpret the Question Precisely
This is a fill-in-the-blank question asking us to choose the best logical connector. The answer must create the right relationship between what comes before and after the blank.
Step 3: Prethink the Answer
- The passage follows a clear four-part structure: problem identification, cause explanation, solution implementation, and effectiveness evaluation
- The right answer should describe this problem-cause-solution-evaluation sequence
It presents competing theories about social media usage, examines evidence supporting each theory, and then argues that additional research is needed.
✗ Incorrect
- Describes a research comparison structure
- Our passage does not present competing theories or examine evidence supporting different theories
It identifies a technological problem, explains the causes of that problem, describes solutions that were implemented, and then evaluates the effectiveness of those solutions.
✓ Correct
- Perfectly matches our structure with problem, causes, solutions, and evaluation sequence
- This accurately describes engagement fatigue as a technological problem
It describes a cultural shift, contrasts that shift with previous patterns, and then speculates about future developments in the field.
✗ Incorrect
- Suggests describing a cultural shift
- The passage focuses on a specific platform problem rather than broader cultural change
It introduces a research methodology, discusses limitations of that methodology, and then proposes improvements for future studies.
✗ Incorrect
- Describes a methodology-focused structure
- Our passage does not introduce research methods or discuss limitations