British English · B1 · Unit 16
Life online
Life online
By the end you can
- Say how you use your phone and the internet
- Talk about the good and bad sides of social media
- Understand a short article about technology
Words and phrases
| British English | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| social media | websites and apps for sharing posts with people | I spend too much time on social media. |
| scroll through | move down a screen to see more | I scroll through my phone before bed. |
| screen time | the time you spend looking at a screen | My phone tells me my screen time every Sunday. |
| cut down on | do or use less of | I'm trying to cut down on social media. |
| the downside | the bad side, the disadvantage | The downside is that you never really switch off. |
| on the other hand | but looking at it another way | On the other hand, it's a great way to stay in touch. |
| post | put (a photo, a message) online | She posts photos of her dog every day. |
| addictive | hard to stop doing | These apps are designed to be addictive. |
| group chat | a chat with several people in a messaging app | The family group chat never stops. |
| switch off | relax and stop thinking about work or your phone | I leave my phone downstairs so I can switch off. |
| fake news | false stories that look like real news | A lot of what you see online is fake news. |
| log out | leave your account on a website or an app | I'm going to log out for a week. |
Then talk it through
A friend who wants to quit social media asks what you think. In the app you have this conversation out loud or typed, with the unit's goals to tick off and corrections at the end.