Social Media

Vocabulary

Viral: if a post/ video is viral or “has gone viral,” that means it is spreading very rapidly across the internet,

Troll: used as a verb and a noun. A troll is a person who purposely creates offensive or provocative posts or comments to arouse anger in other social media users.

Hater: a person who posts negative or critical comments about others

Vlogger: a person who regularly creates short videos to be posted online

Meme: a humorous image or text that is easily sent to others over the internet

Anonymity: The state of being anonymous, of people not knowing your identity

DM: direct message

Emoji: a small digital image used in social media/ emails/ text to display an emotion, object or idea

Badger: to bother someone repeatedly

Derogatory: offensive, hurtful, disrespectful

Censor: to keep certain images. Texts, etc. from being displayed or published because it is offensive or immoral

Follow:  to subscribe to the page of a person or business on social media

Harass: to create a hostile situation through written or verbal communication

Catfishing: the act of creating a false internet profile in order to deceive or scam someone

Grooming: preparing someone (often a minor) over the internet in order to eventually commit a sexual offense

Influencer: a person who promotes a product online to his/her followers so that they may purchase it

Photoshop: software that allows users to digitally alter their images

Filters: preset photo enhancements that users can select to apply to their images or videos

Block: stopping or banning someone from interacting with you on social media or viewing your posts/ profile

Scam: a dishonest attempt to trick or cheat you

IELTS speaking part 1

Examiner: Is social media popular in your country?

Candidate: “Very much. Many people, especially the young, are trying to become vloggers and influencers. The try to accumulate as many followers as possible. Apparently, there are people in my country earning a considerable income from this.”

Examiner: Do you use social media often?

Candidate: I must confess that I am an avid user of social media. I am constantly DMing my friends the newest memes and the latest viral videos. It’s a way to connect with them even when we can’t be together.

Why do some people choose not to use social media?

Candidate: the internet is still in many ways, like the wild west with very little legislation or controls. It is extremely easy to fall prey to scammers trying to trick you out of money or even worse, your identity. Social media sites are full of trolls who only post in order to incite a reaction or haters who badger other posters or spew negativity everywhere.

IELTS speaking part 2 (cue card)

Talk about your favorite social media site or application

Say when you first used it

• Why you use it 
• How often you use it 
• And if you recommend it to others

Candidate: While many people my age have moved on to Snapchat or TikTok, Instagram remains my favorite social media site for a variety of reasons. I started using this app five years ago when I started experimenting with photography and I find that it is an application that allows me to express myself creatively, by using various filters for my photography or videos to create an effect I desire.

I have accumulated a rather large number of followers over the years, but I certainly would not call myself an influencer. I now use the application at least 3 times a week to post stories or to dm my friends and followers.

I still enjoy using Instagram very much and would absolutely recommend it to others …. but you do need to have thick skin if you amass a large following. I have had people make derogatory comments to me which can be rather upsetting but fortunately you can block them easily. I have been fortunate so far, but some people I know have been victims of catfishing, which can be traumatic.

IELTS speaking part 3 

Examiner: At what age are children are generally allowed to use social media in your country?

Candidate: I think it really depends on which application the child is using. Some applications generally expose a child more to potential predators or cyberbullies so I think children should be at least 15 to use them. I have heard that predators create fake profiles in order to groom children – this is despicable and is just one reason why parents should monitor their children’s device use.

Examiner: Do you think people will social media more or less in the future?

Candidate: With so many things changing so quickly, it’s rather difficult to predict what the future holds. A few years ago we were sending emoji’s to one another and now everywhere you look people are dancing in front of their cameras for the world to see. So, I imagine our obsession with social media will continue although I hesitate to predict what form that will take.

Examiner: Why do you think bullying on the internet has become so widespread?

Candidate: I think cyberbullies and trolls generally feel that a shield of anonymity protects them. Many people are on social media area out there with dummy profiles harassing people at will and I guess like in all kinds of bullying, it makes the bully feel important or worthy. So the bully gets the validation he or she needs without any of the repercussions that might occur if the bullying were to take place in the real world.