How often do you check your Social Media? Go on, be honest? I bet* you do quite often if you are on any online social network. I confess – I do! (usually).
I remember life even before mobile phones and the internet being in every home. OOps* I am showing my age.
Last week I decided to take a week off * social media. Why? How did it go? Did I manage it? What did I do with all that extra free time? Let me tell you.
Vocabulary notes: *I bet = I think strongly that you did (apuesto que si). *Oops = the English sound for when we make a mistake. *to take a week off/to take time off = to have a rest or break from something.
Why? Burning the Candle at both ends.
Burning the candle at both ends basically means you are staying up late and also getting up early in the mornings. You have a lack* of sleep which starts to affect your health, your eyes and your mind. I was doing that! I had too many activities (work, studying and hobbies) programmed for the week and doing all the social media posts, images, plan, blog, videos etc was making me feel overwhelmed* Therefore*, I decided to reduce my load* and help lessen* my stress levels. One week without social media was my aim!
Vocabulary: *lack = without. *to feel overwhelmed = to feel you have too much to do and very stressed by it. *Therefore = so… *to reduce my load = to make less my quantity of work/responsibilities. *to lessen = make less
How did it go?
At first it went well, with no looking at all. However as the days passed I became more and more worried that I was missing something and wanted to know what was going on with my friends. By Tuesday (I started on Sunday) I had looked at facebook a little. By Wednesday I was looking at Instagram – I even posted a video to confess that I had!
Click here to watch my midweek up-date on my ‘no social media’ experiment with subtitles available.
Then I decided to see no more until Sunday…. but on Saturday I had a look! I think I am a little addicted to scrolling down the feeds*. Although I didn’t manage my 1 week without social media I did enjoy a break from posting, creating images, videos, posts and planning. I usually enjoy all the social media I do as an English teacher and having contact with English learners from all around the world, but this week was a rest (except for studying, working and everything else).
Vocabulary: *to scroll down = to look down the screen and further down and more.
5 things I have done with my extra free time
Have I invented a cure* for an illness, helped old people cross the road?
Ermmmm*….. No. I worked, studied, danced, sang, walked my dog and…
1) I’ve spent more time studying Spanish grammar.
Vocab: * a cure = a treatment or medicine that would remove an illness. *Ermm = the noise British people use to hesitate/to think while in a conversation.
2)
I’ve continued on the online course I am studying about Shakespeare. Learning this week about the differences between the early versions of Hamlet, studying sonnets*, and analysing little differences in a speech from Romeo and Juliet with were found in the first printed scripts*. It is all very interesting! Click on the image to visit this really interesting webpage!
Vocab: *sonnets = a type of poem. *script = the papers which tell the actors what to say.
3) I experimented with different apps trying to learn how to edit photos and change images. This fish picture was made with Pixomatic app.
4&5) I also made 2 mini animations.
Want to see?
Click here for my super short stop motion of Pendle Hill
For some more serious reading about social media…
Click here to read an article called “What impact has Social media truly had on society?”
And for some comprehension practice…
Click here to watch the entertaining short tedtalk by Alexis Ohanian
What about my objective of 1 week without social media?
No, I didn’t manage it, but I will try again in a month or two. I definitely will limit my time scrolling down all the news feeds from now on though, so I have more time to be creative and do other fun things!
See you next week!
Kim
Kim Griffiths English 