Shadowing Practice: I Stopped Doom Scrolling and This Happened... - Learn English Speaking with Video

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Is your screen time double digits?

When you pick up your phone, do you somehow lose an entire hour of your day?

I know I did.

I kind of made like an unconscious, conscious choice to go analog this year.

I was doom scrolling to the max.

I would sit down and for an hour or two hours, I would just, it was just gone basically.

And I'd look back and I'd say, what the hell did I do with my life for the last two hours?

I didn't like how much these companies had control over us and they're literally designed to keep our attention.

They are designed like slot machines.

I believe it was Netflix that said their biggest competitor was sleep which is madness.

These big corporations are going against our interests really

and yet we spend so much time on these things that are designed to take our attention away from real life.

Obviously you can block these things on your your phone anyway there is an option to do

that but it is so simple to just be like dismiss it basically

so I wanted to get something

that was gonna literally block me from doing

it like I wanted a full stop block I got myself this it's called now lock it's essentially a brick

and it works in an NFC way

so you can tap it just like you would any other type of NFC

and it will physically block the apps you can choose what apps you want to block

but it will physically block the apps and you will not be able to access the apps until you tap it again.

And you might be thinking, well, wouldn't you just tap it again?

But there is something that really genuinely prevents you from even doing it.

Like once you have that physical barrier there, you don't think to tap it.

You really don't.

I mean, I will say for the first few days when I decided to do it, it was reflex to go on Instagram.

In a moment where I would be sat any bit of minimal boredness, I would try and go on Instagram.

And that really truly made me realize how genuinely addicted I was to my phone.

And it is scary to think that you can be that addicted to your phone.

It impacts you in your attention span.

It impacts you in how productive you can be.

It impacts your creativity.

And I know this because since I've locked my phone, and I honestly will go 36 hours without even looking at Instagram.

I have felt so much better.

I am not constantly comparing myself to other people.

I'm more happy with my own life.

I'm getting out there.

I'm doing more things.

You know, my partner even said to me that he's shocked at how productive I've been since doing that.

And it's made me more ambitious again.

It made me want to start YouTube again, feel a lot more creative.

I feel like I always had to almost copy what other people were doing where

because I just didn't feel like I could come up with the ideas myself

and since doing this I feel like I'm so creative

and I don't need to look at what other people are doing

and I can just go off of my own ideas for the first time in years literally years

and I'm a graphic designer so that is mind -boggling

but it's true by the way I am not sponsored by them I'm genuinely just telling you these things

because I feel like it helped me and I want to help other people too so

yeah that's my whole thing with the locked device and you know

if you want to get something you don't have to get

that you can get literally any of the devices the reason I went for

that one was because it was like one of the cheapest ones you can buy one

and more than one person can use it you don't have to be on the same schedule

or anything all you have to do is literally just tap

it out you don't have to have the same apps on it you can choose whatever apps you want

so yeah just buy one go for the cheapest one

it doesn't matter they all the same shit yeah in terms of you know listening to records

and taking film photography I feel more connected to people

and I feel more connected to myself and it's

so much nicer to be able to flick through a photo album

and look at the memories then you know having a million photos in your gallery on your phone

that you will never look at ever again let's be real

or if you do look at it you'll be quickly scrolling through

and you're really not taking it in the same way as you do

when you have it there printed in front of you.

I love that and that's why me and Jay have been getting into photo albums and printing our photos.

I got a disposable camera when I went to Fred again and it was the best thing ever.

Not only did it make me more connected to people when I was there, the amount of people that came up to me

and were talking to me and saying what a great idea it was

and you know I actually made friends on the night

because of it but also now I have all the memories printed there for me to look at.

The great thing about it as well is it's not so curated.

When you have a phone

you take a million photos to get the right one whereas with a film camera you don't have a choice.

You just got to deal with the memories and they're so real.

You know, nowadays with AI, you can literally fix your face and FaceTune or whatever they're called.

These apps where you can change the way your body looks and that's all well and good.

Yes, we want to look like the best versions of ourselves, even if it's not really us.

But don't you want to look back on those memories one day

and think that's actually me

and I looked great we're our worst critics at the end of the day

but we will look back on these photos

and think why was I being like that I look amazing here you know

that that is a good thing but you know there are other companies like

Camp Snap Pro again not sponsored or anything I'm just showing you things

that I like to use I have all kinds of cameras

it is a bit like a toy I'm not gonna lie to you

but it is great and

that you really capture the moment there is some controversy about analog

and going analog and that there's these companies

that are now trying to profit off of people wanting to go analog

and have the nostalgia and things like that which I do understand

but I also think

if it brings you into the moment a bit more

then there's nothing wrong with it at the end of the day

so I personally love this and I got the actual photos printed from this

because essentially all this is is that you connect it to your phone

and then you've got the photos on your phone

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so you can take a million photos with this as well

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but you just can't see them like there's nothing there's nothing there to see it is literally as

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if you've got a disposable camera at your fingertips

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and they take very cute little retro photos which do feel very nostalgic

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but again you can get things like an actual film camera

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and go around taking film photos which is amazing I definitely recommend doing

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that another great thing that I love is having an actual camcorder have a million cameras

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and this is by far the only thing that I've noticed

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that you don't feel conscious about in front of

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so they're a lot of fun and looking back it just feels

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so natural everything I think that's the thing

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that we're missing is everything feels so unnatural nowadays with AI with all these different apps.

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Everything feels curated.

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Everything feels just fake.

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And the great thing about going back to analog is it just feels real.

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Everything feels real again.

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And it really has just a lovely impact on your mental health in so many ways.

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Even things like playing a record, you know, with a record.

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It's an event.

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It's a process and you can't skip the songs.

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You just have to listen to the whole album.

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There's not a million different bands on there that you can just flick through.

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You have to really know who you want to listen to as well.

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And if you're going to spend that money, it's so much more thoughtful.

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There's so much more intention behind it.

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And I think that's the thing

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that I like the most about being able to cut yourself off from social media

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and go analog and use these things from the 2000s

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and you know the 90s

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or wherever they're from is there was a lot of intention in it back in the day

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and that's the thing I'm enjoying the most.

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I didn't realize how much social media was designed to hold your attention

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or maybe I did and that's what came down to it

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but it's built on unpredictable rewards which is the same system that slot machines use.

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So your brain is constantly checking for something new in case you miss something.

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It's basically built off of FOMO.

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Why are we living our lives fearing on missing out on something

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when all we need to do is just go and live our lives?

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Go outside, touch grass.

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I had to do it, okay?

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And I'm here, I'm screaming from the rooftops.

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Let's all go touch grass together.

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But when you remove the constant input, everything does genuinely feel a lot calmer and steadier and quieter.

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I mean, I'd choose that any day.

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Anyway, thank you so much for watching.

145

I hope you liked this video.

146

And if you did, please give it a thumbs up and please feel free to subscribe.

147

I'll see you in the next one.

148

Thanks, bye.

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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson

This speaking lesson is built on the video “I Stopped Doom Scrolling and This Happened..”. This video has 148 sentences and 1757 words to shadow. The speech runs for 9:11. The speaker talks fast, about 191 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. 86% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English; the rest is worth studying before you start.

Key vocabulary in this video

15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:

Word	Pronunciation	Meaning
analog adjective	/ˈænəlɔɡ/	In which the value of a data item (such as time) is represented by a continuous(ly) variable physical quantity that can be measured (such as the shadow of a…
connect verb	/kəˈnɛkt/	To join (to another object): to attach, or to be intended to attach or capable of attaching, to another object.
genuinely adverb	/ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/	In a genuine manner; truthfully, truly.
essentially adverb	/ɪˈsɛnʃəli/	In essence: by nature.
grass noun	/ɡɹɑːs/	Any plant of the family Poaceae, characterized by leaves that arise from nodes in the stem and leaf bases that wrap around the stem, especially those grown as…
intention noun	/ɪnˈtɛnʃn̩/	A course of action that a person intends to follow.
physically adverb	/ˈfɪz.ɪ.kli/	In a physical manner.
productive adjective	/pɹəˈdʌk.tɪv/	Capable of producing something, especially in abundance; fertile.
conscious adjective	/ˈkɑn.ʃəs/	Alert, awake; with one's mental faculties active.
nowadays adverb	/ˈnaʊ.ə.deɪz/	At the present time; in the current era.
slot noun	/slɑt/	A narrow depression, perforation, or aperture; especially, one for the reception of a piece fitting or sliding into it.
sponsor noun	/ˈspɒn.səː/	A person or organization with some sort of responsibility for another person or organization, especially where the responsibility has a religious, legal, or…
scroll noun	/skɹoʊl/	A roll of paper or parchment; a writing formed into a roll.
addict noun	/ˈæd.ɪkt/	A person who is addicted, especially to a harmful drug.
flick noun	/flɪk/	A short, quick movement, especially a brush, sweep, or flip.

Phrasal verbs you will hear

Word	Meaning
flick through verb	To browse rapidly.
look back verb	To think of (past events) in retrospect (in hindsight).
come down to verb	To reach by moving down or reducing.
come up to verb	To approach.
come up with verb	To manage to produce, deliver, or present (something) by inventing, creating, thinking of, or obtaining it.
get out verb	To leave or escape.
go around verb	To move or spread from person to person.
go back to verb	To stem from; to originate in.

Sentences worth repeating

Short, complete lines from the video that you can reuse in everyday conversation:

Is your screen time double digits?
I'm more happy with my own life.
It's a process and you can't skip the songs.
Let's all go touch grass together.
I mean, I'd choose that any day.

Grammar in this video

The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:

Structure	In the video
Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now	I've locked · have felt · I've been
Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it	are designed · would be sat · was designed
Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing	sleep which is · photos which is · rewards which is

Pronunciation to watch

The speaker uses 48 contractions and reduced forms, such as I'm, don't, they're. Say them the short way, as you hear them.

The “th” sounds: thumb /ˈθʌm/, thoughtful /ˈθɔːtfəl/
The “sh” and “zh” sounds: essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, intention /ɪnˈtɛnʃn̩/, conscious /ˈkɑn.ʃəs/, shock /ʃɔk/, capture /ˈkæp.(t)ʃɚ/
Long words — get the stress right: genuinely /ˈd͡ʒɛn.ju.ɪn.li/, essentially /ɪˈsɛnʃəli/, photography /fəˈtɑ.ɡɹə.fi/, controversy /kənˈtɹɒv.ə.si/, creativity /kri.eɪˈtɪv.ᵻ.ti/

How to practise with this video

Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like analog, connect, genuinely.

What is the Shadowing Technique?

Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.

Shadowing technique: read the full step-by-step guide →

Shadowing Practice: I Stopped Doom Scrolling and This Happened... - Learn English Speaking with Video

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