Shadowing Practice: your phone is ruining your life - here’s how to take it back. - Learn English Speaking with YouTube
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The day
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The day
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that I There's nothing What's good, Yoss?
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Stop wasting your time How you wish How to grow Let's be honest,
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how many times have you been in this same exact position?
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It's like the second your eyes open, it's a reflex.
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You grab your phone, not because you need to, not because anything urgent is happening, but because we've been trained to doom scroll, to escape our own lives before the day even begins.
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Without even thinking about it, we start the day watching strangers live their lives instead of living our own.
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Their breakfast, their vacations, their perfect routines, their highlight reels.
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All before we've lived even a minute of our own day.
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And I'm not just trying to call you out, okay?
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That was exactly how I was starting my day every single day.
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Before I would even brush my teeth and wipe the crust out of my eye, I would just be doing this, scrolling and scrolling.
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And you know, I tell myself, it's fine.
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Like, it's just for a few minutes, but a few minutes would turn into half an hour.
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Half an hour would turn to multiple hours.
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And it's like, boom, before I knew it, it just became a part of my daily morning routine.
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I would start my days watching other people exist.
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I was essentially just living through my phone, watching everyone else's lives, and I didn't even realize fully what it was doing to me.
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So last year was one of the most difficult periods of my life.
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I was going through it mentally, physically, emotionally.
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Literally every single area of my life.
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So basically I got off of birth control and my hormones just became so out of whack My skin started breaking out like crazy I was losing chunks of my hair and I lost a lot of weight And I was really in this dark mental space that I really haven't been in in a long time And look, I know some people might think i'm being dramatic.
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Okay, like it's just acne Why would that ruin your entire life?
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But honestly, if you've ever looked in the mirror and didn't recognize yourself, you probably know exactly what I mean I feel like no one will really get it until they actually go through something like that But my skin was so bad that I didn't want to go out for months.
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I hated looking in the mirror I would skip out on all plans with friends I would just stay hold up in my apartment and scroll and scroll and scroll and it was the only thing that
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helped me feel like I was escaping the feelings I was going through and let me tell you all I did was scroll scroll to distract myself from how I felt Scroll to escape the anxiety scroll so I didn't have to think but honestly the more I scrolled the worse I felt because by doom scrolling,
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I actually developed so much anxiety I would constantly compare myself with every single person I would see online She has perfect skin.
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She has a perfect body.
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This girl has so many friends.
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This girl has a perfect life And I just never felt good enough.
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I was constantly distracted and my mental health felt like it was just destroyed I felt completely lost so insecure to really put things into perspective of how bad my doom scrolling was at the time This was like an average day of screen time for me So if you're watching right now,
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it's for a reason and if you're watching right now and you're in the same position I hope you know I am the last person to judge you
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Everyone tells you stop using your phone.
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Just use a flip phone, delete social media, take a digital detox.
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And trust me, I've tried it all.
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But like,
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let's just be so for real our phones is how we live now this thing is literally an essential part of our daily lives and phones are not all bad they
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help us connect learn and get inspired create and i am literally a content creator my passion is literally sharing content with you guys and because of social media we built this like amazing community of like-minded girlies.
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You guys bring me so much joy and purpose.
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And one of my favorite parts of my life, my passions is sharing content that inspires you guys.
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And honestly, none of that would be possible if it wasn't for this, but like a lot of you guys, most of the time I still spent mindlessly consuming other people's lives, feeling worse and worse about myself and my own life.
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I was like watching strangers live while watching my own life just pass me by.
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And that's when it just like, boom, randomly hit me.
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I didn't need to disconnect from my phone and get rid of her completely.
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I just needed to reconnect with my own life instead.
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And so I started romanticizing my own moments again, documenting my life, the small things, the big things, the real things, just for me, not for likes, not for followers, not for validation, just to remember and remind myself that my own life is worth paying attention to.
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And it had me thinking, what if there was a space on your phone that wasn't about comparison, where you could store your memories, your thoughts, your moments, a safe place in your phone that just felt home to you.
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So that is why I'm so excited to finally share Cove with you.
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Cove was created for your life romanticize it document it share it with the closest people to you I save anything and everything that matters photos videos links thoughts
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the big moments the little ones and I organized them into Cove seemed spaces for different things I care about I even invite my close friends and family to
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share these moments with and stay connected with them But doing all of that with no doom scrolling no feed no algorithms no ads no pressure Just me and my
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own life because you deserve a space that reminds you to live your own life And if you want to see what living your life looks like come with me, let's go
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You guys love seeing her in the vlog so I told her to stop being shy and to join me on YouTube today We're gonna have a good day.
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I'm gonna take my mom out We're gonna enjoy the beautiful weather because even though it's cold out.
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It's super sunny If you can see like the Sun is beaming, so I'm gonna take my mom out We're gonna have fun time and take her for some coffee spoil her as we do and enjoy New York City.
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So Let's go, let's go!
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You excited?
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Yes!
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Woo!
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Guys, it's so windy right now.
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I feel like my lashes about to pop up, fly away.
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You guys, she thinks the subway is fun.
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It is fun sometimes when it's not super crowded.
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Today's okay, but when it's crowded, guys, you're squished in there like this, in the train.
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And it smells like armpits.
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It's like a little field trip for her.
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Alright you guys, I'm here with my mom.
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I just brought her to one of my favorite cafes.
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It's called Little Ruby's Cafe.
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The food here guys, lots.
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Perfect.
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crispy rice bowl, bronte, medium-mobile sweet potato, we're sharing both, right?
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Yeah, we're sharing both.
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Take it out of your way for you.
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I was just talking to my mom about this.
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Eating out with her, well eating out in general, one of the things I noticed, let me know if any of you guys relate.
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Growing up, anytime my family and I would go out to eat, we would only order water and that was it.
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That was the rule.
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Like we just knew nothing but water, okay?
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Like no soda, no coffee, no tea, nothing but water.
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And my mom was saying it's because for them it felt like a waste to spend money on a drink when it should be only for food, right?
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So I was telling her one of the luxuries of like getting older and like being able to be independent and spoil my mom is I could tell her like get whatever drink you want.
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So she got herself a little tea.
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The small luxuries of life.
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Alrighty, Emma, how was the food?
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She liked it.
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I want to journal a little bit, so we're gonna head to a cafe around here.
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I know we were just at a cafe, but we only had food really.
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Now we're going to like a cafe cafe.
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Look at this barbershop.
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Looks like a movie set.
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It's just vibes right now.
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The fall vibes are in New York City.
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It's full on.
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Regular, I'll be expecting.
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good wonderful welcome
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Hello vlog!
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I'm here with my umma.
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We're here in West Village enjoying the fall crisp weather.
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Honestly one of the best seasons to be in New York is the fall time because it's just such a vibe.
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Like leaves are changing color, it's sweater weather, so it's like a cozier vibe you know.
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And it's just so much easier to romanticize life when it's fall time.
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See that line for crumbled cookies?
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Like how long that line was?
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Never that serious.
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It's really never that serious.
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I can't hear you.
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Nobody else see you.
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A thing with my girl.
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I see you.
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I'm all in my hands.
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I can't hear you.
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so guys one of my favorite parts of my apartment is sunset the views like you guys i have to show you the sunset right now
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because it is stunning look how beautiful it is right now even pika look at her she's romanticizing her life right now watching the view like it literally looks like a painting.
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Miss Pika is just like her mom, romanticizing her life.
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Using Cove changed everything for me.
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It was the first time in my life i actually felt good spending my time on an app and i literally cannot remember the last time i used an app
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that genuinely makes me feel good after using it like looking back at all my memories creating my coves and i don't have to force myself to scroll less anymore
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i just like naturally want to spend my time more on cove because reflecting on my own life feels better than consuming other people's i feel so much more present, more confident, and I can literally see my progress, my growth, how far I've come.
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And I can see my own life.
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I realized I'm a more grateful, happier individual overall, because now I actually see what I have instead of being constantly reminded of what I don't have on social media, being constantly overstimulated by that.
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And truly when I tell you, I understand what actually matters now, if that makes sense.
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I find myself comparing myself way less to strangers.
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And I just love the fact that I can save anything.
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The messy moments, random moments, Moments I usually just forget.
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Photos that aren't the cutest, but I just want to keep for myself.
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This is my space dedicated to me.
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And I'm honestly just so, so excited for you guys to have it too.
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Doomscrolling is actually a huge problem right now.
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81% of Gen Zers literally identify themselves as doomscrollers.
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And 83% of them say that they have an unhealthy relationship with their phone.
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And that was literally me.
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I was drowning, just consuming, watching other people live their lives instead of living my own.
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And it gets worse, okay?
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83% of people aged 16 to 24 say social media makes them feel pressure to be perfect.
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And 87% of them say that it negatively impacts their mental health.
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And I feel that, okay?
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I felt that firsthand.
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The comparison, the pressure, feeling like you're never doing enough, feeling like you're not enough.
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And there are some real consequences.
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Studies show that spending over three hours a day on social media puts younger people at a way higher risk for mental health problems.
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And this one stat spooked me to my core, okay?
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If nothing changes, the average person wastes about 25 years of their life on their phone.
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25 years.
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Yep.
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But here's the part that actually gave me so much hope, and I know it will for you too.
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People are pushing back.
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Instagram engagement is down 28% year after year.
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And I can tell you firsthand, I'm tired.
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Everyone's tired.
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Everyone is burnt out.
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Everyone is craving something new, something real.
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And that is so true.
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Whenever I'm scrolling on Instagram, I barely even see the people that I actually want to see, which are my close friends, and seeing what they're up to.
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It's just a bunch of ads and perfect people's lives.
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And I'm a content creator, so it's a little bit different.
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I do post on Instagram, but literally all of my close friends who are not content creators, they hate posting on Instagram.
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And what is the point of having Instagram when you don't even get to post for yourself?
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And the science proved that changing is possible.
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One study found that just limiting social media to 30 minutes a day for just three weeks led to significant improvement in depression.
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Another study found that cutting screen time to under two hours a day improved depressive symptoms and other things like stress, sleep quality, and overall wellbeing in just three weeks.
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So this is why I've been a part of Cove and why Cove was created.
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Cove is your tool to take your life back, to romanticize your life, not someone else's, to save all the moments that actually matter to you, your thoughts, your memories, your people, to reconnect with yourself, but more importantly, to take your attention back.
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So with all that being said, I literally cannot wait to see what you guys create on Cove.
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Like I'm telling you since using Cove, I already feel so much more free, more present.
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And that is such a freeing feeling that I genuinely want each and every single one of you to feel.
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Cove changed my life and I genuinely believe that it can change yours too.
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Cove is available now on the app store.
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I love you guys so, so much and I hope to catch you in the next video.
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Bye!
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Manyмоir
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Why practice speaking with this video?
This video provides a relatable context for English learners as it dives into the common struggles of modern life, particularly how technology can affect our daily routines and mental health. Engaging with this content allows learners to practice the shadowing technique, where they can imitate the speaker's tone, pace, and expressions. By speaking along with the video, students can refine their pronunciation and develop a more natural rhythm in their speech. This video highlights the importance of self-reflection and personal connection to one’s own life, making it an excellent choice for those preparing for IELTS speaking practice, where personal experiences often play a significant role in conversation prompts.
Grammar & Expressions in Context
Within the transcript, several key grammatical structures and expressions can enhance your speaking skills:
- Present continuous tense: The speaker uses phrases like “I'm scrolling,” which conveys ongoing actions and can help learners express activities they are currently engaged in.
- Using questions for engagement: “How many times have you been in this same exact position?” This rhetorical question invites listeners to reflect on their own experiences and can enhance conversational skills.
- Colloquial phrases: Expressions like “I was going through it” capture casual, relatable dialogue, perfect for making speech more engaging and authentic.
- Comparative structures: The speaker often contrasts their situation with others, e.g., “She has perfect skin,” which provides great practice in expressing comparisons in English.
Common Pronunciation Traps
While practicing, pay attention to some words that may present pronunciation challenges:
- Doom scrolling: This phrase can be tricky due to the quick transition from “doom” to “scrolling.” Practice saying it smoothly.
- Essential: This word can often be mispronounced. Focus on emphasizing the second syllable, pronouncing it more like “es-SEN-tial.”
- Documenting: Stressing the correct syllable here is crucial for clarity - it should sound more like “DOC-u-men-ting.”
Engaging with this content not only enriches your vocabulary but also offers an opportunity to learn English with YouTube, which is invaluable for reinforcing language skills. Embrace the shadowspeak approach, where you mimic the speaker in real-time, allowing you to practice pronunciation and improve fluency effectively.
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.
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