📘 Part 3: Social media

This episode's vocabulary

Novel (noun) - something new and original, not like anything seen before.

Drawn to sth - attracted to something.

To assign (verb) - if you assign a characteristic or value to something, you say that it has it.

Falsehood (noun) - a lie or a statement that is not correct.

Outrage (noun) - a feeling of anger and shock.

To consolidate (verb) - to become, or cause something to become, stronger, and more certain.

To cement (verb) -to make something such as an agreement or friendship stronger.

Avenue (noun) - a method or way of doing something.

Trend (noun) - a general development or change in a situation or in the way that people are behaving.

Ephemeral (adj.) - lasting for only a short time.

Novelty (noun) - something that has not been experienced before and so is interesting.

To stagnate (verb) - to stay the same and not grow or develop.

To crave (verb) - to have a very strong feeling of wanting something.

Inevitable (adj.) - certain to happen and unable to be avoided or prevented.

Augmented reality (noun) - images produced by a computer and used together with a view of the real world.

To capitalize on sth. (phrasal verb) - to use a situation to your own advantage.

To ramp sth. up (phrasal verb) - to increase the speed, power, or cost of something.

Exploitation (noun) - the use of something in order to get an advantage from it.

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Questions and Answers

M: Why do people like to use social media?

R: Oh, I suppose the neutral opinion is that they want to share some aspects of their lives and work with the world in one way or another, whether it's an opinion, or what they had for dinner, or some of their work. And they are awarded with this, with money or attention. So they come back for more.

M: What kinds of things are popular on social media?

R: Cats. Cats are popular. Look at me, I'm done with the trends. No, it's probably easier to say what isn't popular, really. I suppose what they all have in common is that they are something new. The subject can be the same, but the content is novel. So say, well, people like memes, for example. And they might know the format, but they're drawn to the new content that's assigned to that meme.

M: What are the advantages and disadvantages of using social media?

R: Well, in general, we're more connected and more aware of things than before. But this connection and awareness leads us to the wrong conclusion sometimes, because falsehoods can spread faster, or people can wind up exposed to ideas they aren't ready to deal with. And without being prepared, and that can have consequences outside the digital world if people take their outrage to the streets.

M: What do you think of making friends on social media?

R: Well, that's a good place to start. But there has to be something that goes beyond the digital contact on social media. Like, well, it could be face-to-face communication, or playing games together to consolidate and cement the friendship. Otherwise, it's really difficult to maintain if you're just only friends on Facebook, and that's all.

M: But do you think it's possible to make a friend and being friends with them only on social media?

R: You can make friends, but you can't sustain the friendship by just only this avenue. There has to be something concrete.

M: And has this tendency changed over the years? I mean, making friends on social media?

R: Well, more people have it now. So I suppose the number of people who are feeling it, or you are a part of this trend, or tendency are engaging in it. But you know, it still requires something to back it up. Otherwise, it's just a sort of ephemeral thing.

M: Is it easy to find friends on social media?

R: Oh, I'm not sure. Well, I haven't tried because all of my friends I met through face-to-face events, like parties and gatherings or at work, rather than just through social media. I think it's easy to talk to people if real life makes you nervous or anxious about the idea of speaking in person. But I'm convinced that it's easier and more natural to form lasting relationships offline rather than online.

M: Do you think that in the future, more people will make friends on social media?

R: Um, well, it's hard to tell, because so many people are connected with social media now. But if there are more people in the world, and the trend continues the way that it has been for a while, then why not?

M: What social networking websites are popular?

R: Well, the ones that readily feed people's desire for novelty, I would imagine. You can see this in terms of like the big networks being updated constantly with new features and filters, and ways to interact with people and content. When they stop doing this, or they fall behind then they start to stagnate in terms of popularity. That's happening with Facebook now.

M: Do you think that certain social networking websites are going to be less popular in the future?

R: Oh, yeah. Always. Because people want novelty. I've said it a lot this episode, but yeah. People want new things. And if you stay on the same platform forever, then you don't get what you crave.

M: Hmm. Do you think that new platforms are going to be in the future?

R: Yeah, definitely. I think that's pretty much inevitable.

M: What kind of platforms?

R: Well, if I knew that I would be investing in them now and becoming a millionaire. I have no idea. Maybe, like, things connected to augmented reality. That was quite popular for a while. And what's the other thing? It's like augmented reality, virtual reality as well.

M: Do you think that social media trends have changed over the last 10 years?

R: Well, it's all posting pictures or posting content to get attention. So if that's the trend then it's not changed. Maybe the format's changed, but the idea driving it all hasn't changed.

M: What do you think of people who are making big money on social media? Bloggers, like Tik-Tokers?

R: I don't think that's a... Again, I don't think that's a new thing. Like as soon as some new media appears, there's always people who are going to capitalize on this.

M: And do you think people in the past used social media more than today?

R: Well, how far back in the past you want to go?

M: Like, let's say, five years?

R: No, I imagine people are using it a lot more now because there's a greater number of features. And we already talked about this idea of novelty, being a driving force, and what makes social media trends. Well, what ramps them up in the first place, and then what makes them carry on? So no, there are probably more people using it and they're interacting with it more in different ways now than they were previously. Because there're more avenues for exploitation.

M: Thank you very much, Rory. That's the end of the speaking test.

R: Thank God, can we talk about something normal now, not social media?

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