Social Phenomena Exercise (for lack of a better title)

I'm not sure this will be useful, but it is a composition writing exercise that I will be experimenting with tomorrow when I begin teaching my students about trends and researching. First, divide the class into four groups, and have each group represent a newly found island. Their task is to produce a concise report to their elders about a current social phenomenon (another way of looking at trends-- which in this case, they will come up with, such as blogging, flash mobs, cyber-affairs, suicide etc...) taking place as a result of some sort of epidemic (or anything for that matter). So, they must first identify a social phenomenon that is currently taking place in their island.
-To do so, they must investigate what has propelled such a phenomenon to occur, in other words, what are the causes. It could be the environment, an event, an individual, technological invention etc...

-Secondly, what are the effects of such a “trend,” or social phenomenon on the populace?
Who is being affected by it? For instance, is it a specific ethnicity, class, gender, age group etc...
How are they being affected?

-Thirdly, what are the implications of such a trend? Should something be done to reverse this trend if it is having a negative impact on society, or if it is a positive trend, what can be done to further it.

-Finally, have them report their findings to the other students.

This exercise should hopefully mimic the steps that they will consider when writing their research paper, that they are not merely proving that the trend exists but moving beyond that and analyzing the implications of such a trend, and to realize that research always takes place in conversation.