Shadowing Practice: so you deleted social media... now what? - Learn English Speaking with Video
Creating lesson...
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You probably feel like social media has taken over your entire life.
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It's sucking dry your childlike joy and creative spark.
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It's infiltrated into every crevice of your mind.
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At what point did I pick up my phone and never put it back down again?
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So you do it.
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You do the thing.
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You finally delete social media.
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And, well, now what?
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Here are five obstacles you can expect after quitting social media and why it's worth it.
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Well, expect to reach for your phone.
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A lot.
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Just because you deleted the apps doesn't mean that your brain magically stopped being addicted to your phone.
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It's still there, you just lost access to it.
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When I first got off of social media, I found myself reaching for my phone just as much as I did before.
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I just end up scrolling through my photos or my email.
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But I realized that I used my phone as a crutch for any kind of boredom or difficulty.
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For example, when I get stuck on something at work, my instinct would be to reach for my phone and start scrolling.
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Also expect that you most likely will relapse.
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As with any addiction, relapsing is a part of the journey.
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I've relapsed and redownloaded the app so many times before
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and I noticed that for me a lot of the common triggers would be special events or trips that I'd go on.
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I used to use TikTok to search up restaurants and cool places to go.
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Of course I would end up getting sucked back into the apps
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and stay on it for much longer than I intended to.
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That's what these apps are designed to do.
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They're designed to capture your attention at a psychological level.
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It doesn't mean you're broken.
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It literally just means that the platforms are working as they're intended to.
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Hey guys, Editing Zia here.
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I just want to interject real quick and say
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that I'm not trying to imply that I'm somehow better than anyone else for not being on social media.
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I genuinely just had a really bad social media addiction to
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the point where I would spend 8 to 12 hours a day on social media
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and I realized that was really stopping me from doing literally anything else with my life.
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So for me personally, I've seen a lot of benefits from getting off of social media
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but that's not for everyone and some people can have very healthy relationships with it.
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Yeah, that's all.
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The apps are not pre-installed on my phone.
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It adds a little bit of friction
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and makes me think twice about whether whether
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or not I really want to use the app
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because I'm not going to re-download a whole app just to scroll on my phone for five minutes.
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I think for me that's a healthier balance for staying off of social media because it's not about complete restriction.
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But if I need it for some sort of research purpose, I do allow myself to do that.
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Another thing that you can expect to feel is FOMO.
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When you're off of social media, sometimes you quite literally have no idea what's going on in other people's lives.
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And because of that, it can feel very disconnecting and kind of make it feel like you don't have friends anymore.
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While I did struggle with FOMO in the beginning, over time, I've kind of learned to see as a good thing
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because now the people that i talk to
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and hang out with are people
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that i see in real life people who have my phone number
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and can contact me directly i think social media made me feel like i had a lot of friends
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because i would like and comment on other people's posts from college
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or high school but i wouldn't actually interact with these people in real life so
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when i was no longer having these types of interactions it
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definitely made me feel like my circle shrunk a lot you're also going to find
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that you don't understand pop culture internet culture or memes as much anymore
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which again used to make me feel a lot of fomo
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because when my friends in real life would bring up some internet trend i would have no idea what they're talking about.
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And every single time is always just like, Oh, have you seen this trend?
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Have you heard of this?
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And the answer is always no, I never know what's going on.
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And it definitely made me feel like I was missing out.
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But when I consider how much more clarity and control I feel over my life by getting off of social media, I feel like not understanding some internet memes is a small price to pay for that.
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One thing that I really struggled with when I got off of social media was that I felt so uninformed.
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I used to be someone that pretty much got all of my news off of social media.
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And so when I wasn't on it anymore, I felt like I just had no idea what was going on in the world or in politics.
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And that was honestly something
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that made me feel rather conflicted about getting off of social media because there's a lot happening in the world right now.
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It's very chaotic out there.
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And I didn't want to feel like I was being complacent to all the injustices that were happening around me.
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A lot of times social media would be the first place that you would hear about something.
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And so when I wasn't on it anymore, it would just take me a lot longer
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because I would only find things out
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when other people would tell me about something that happened and I would do my own research.
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I think I also began to see that as a good thing.
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It has allowed me to create my opinions separate from the opinions of other people.
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And I think when you are on social media, a lot of times it can be difficult to distinguish whether something is a belief
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that you formed yourself or if it was formed by the millions of other opinions that were on your feed.
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It's very hard to distinguish that
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because a lot of times what you passively consume can subconsciously affect your beliefs without you really knowing it.
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And so that was one thing that I was also struggling with when I was using social media.
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I felt like I kind of became an echo chamber of all the opinions I heard online.
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So now even though the trade off is
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that I don't hear my news as quickly anymore and it takes a bit more effort to gain information.
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I do think that's an overall good thing
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that I'm learning things through my own research rather than through the lens of someone else.
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I do think that social media can be a contributing factor to why our political landscape is so divisive these days.
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We do listen to opinions online and end up regurgitating them in our real lives without noticing.
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And when your TikTok algorithm sees
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that you engage with a lot of emotionally charged political content is going to give you more of that.
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And a lot of times it really makes it seem like the world is ending.
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And even though in some ways that is kind of true, I don't think it's healthy for the average person to be in taking a constant feed of negativity every day.
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Not even being uninformed, but being slowly informed is a small price to pay.
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I did not have to consume all that negativity.
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The next thing that you can expect is, of course, you are going to be bored.
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We all know that our brains are fried.
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It's called brain rot for a reason.
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Our dopamine receptors are fried.
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Our attention spans are cooked.
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We quite literally don't know how to be bored as a society anymore.
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And I think that there's a lot of damage in not allowing a society to be bored
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because I think that in allowing yourself to be bored, creativity is born.
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Inspiration is born.
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It's really hard to create.
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It's really hard to do anything meaningful when you're constantly numbing your brain with a constant stream of fast dopamine.
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It's hard to do hard things when easy things are so insanely gratifying.
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And that was another reason
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that I originally got off of social media to begin with was because I felt like I couldn't do challenging things anymore.
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I couldn't sit down and focus on a project I really wanted to do
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because it was just easier and more fun for me to go scroll on TikTok instead.
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Sometimes it takes you being bored, staring at the wall, staring at a blank canvas.
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And I felt like for me, I lost the skill of being bored.
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I couldn't go up the elevator for 10 seconds without pulling out my phone.
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I can't even go to the bathroom without going on my phone.
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I got so used to filling every single gap of time with entertainment that I didn't have time to just think anymore.
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So for me, when I first deleted social media, it felt like an uncomfortable silence.
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My brain wasn't used to being so under stimulated.
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But I think once you get over those initial feelings of discomfort, it becomes a lot easier for you to sit down
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and read or sit down and draw or do something creative to lean into your hobbies.
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Because yes, it is extremely hard to create when all you do is consume and consumption is not a hobby.
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Getting off of social media is just insanely under stimulating and you're going to be bored.
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But I think that there are great things on the other side of boredom.
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So yes, I just told you all these reasons why you're going to struggle getting off of social media, why it's going to suck.
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So why is it worth it to do it anyways?
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The silver lining here, getting off of social media gave me three noticeable improvements to my quality of life.
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One, your friendships and your relationships will be few, but they will be deeper and more meaningful.
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Yeah, it's going to feel like you're losing friends, but it also gives you so much more time and energy to really nourish the ones that you care about.
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Social media gives us the illusion that we're surrounded by people and yet we still feel so alone.
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Shutting out that noise allows you to focus on the people who really matter.
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Number two, you will find inspiration.
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Like I said, great things are bred out of boredom.
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You have to allow yourself to be bored.
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You have to allow yourself to be understimulated for any creativity to flow.
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I've personally started passion projects such as this YouTube channel.
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And last but not least, number three, you will develop your personal style, taste, opinions, and beliefs.
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When there's no longer the noise of everyone else, it becomes a lot easier for you to understand what you truly like.
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Our generation is going through an identity crisis.
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We so deeply fear the loss of individuality, but the only way to truly know yourself, understand yourself, is by giving yourself time to be alone.
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And that means cutting out the noise.
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Do you really like that thing?
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Do you really want to buy it?
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Do you really believe in this cause?
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Or have you just been influenced?
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All right, guys, that's all I have for you today.
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Thank you for joining me again.
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If you like this video Please make sure to like and subscribe and I will see you guys next time.
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Bye.
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Bye
About This Lesson
In this lesson, you will delve into the topic of overcoming social media addiction, as discussed in the video "So You Deleted Social Media... Now What?" By engaging with this content, you will practice your English speaking skills through the shadowing technique. This method involves listening to a speaker and then trying to repeat what they say, emulating their tone and pace. This exercise will not only enhance your vocabulary but also improve your pronunciation and fluency, making it ideal for IELTS speaking practice and general English speaking practice.
Key Vocabulary & Phrases
- Childlike joy: The innocent happiness and enthusiasm often found in children.
- Creative spark: A sudden bright idea or inspiration to create something new.
- Relapse: To revert to a previous condition or behavior, especially after trying to overcome it.
- FOMO (Fear of Missing Out): The anxiety that an exciting or interesting event may currently be happening elsewhere.
- Crutch: A support that provides help; in this context, it refers to using the phone as a means to escape boredom.
- Triggers: Specific situations or events that provoke a reaction, often leading to unwanted behaviors.
- Healthy balance: The state of maintaining a stable and positive relationship with something, in this case, social media.
- Psychological level: Referring to how something impacts a person’s mental state or emotions.
Practice Tips
To effectively use the shadowing technique with this video, start by playing short segments while paying close attention to the speaker's intonation and rhythm. Pause after a sentence or phrase, and repeat it aloud as closely as possible. Since the speaker presents their ideas at a moderate pace, this makes it an excellent resource for learners looking to improve their skills.
Additionally, consider listening to sections multiple times. Focus on mimicking not only the words but also the emotional inflections. This method can help you build confidence in your speaking ability and prepare for scenarios you might encounter in IELTS speaking practice.
Lastly, try to incorporate this vocabulary into your daily conversations or writing exercises. This will reinforce your learning and help solidify your understanding of using these phrases in context. Whether you're learning English with YouTube or practicing independently, maintaining active engagement with the content is key to your improvement.
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.