Learn English with the fantastic short film, What’s on Your Mind? by Shaun Higton. Find out why Facebook can hurt you. The movie is about the contrast between our lives and what we post on Facebook.
Facebook Can Hurt You
Like it or not, you tend to compare your life with the lives of others.
Let’s admit it! Sometimes it can be quite depressing to look at your friends’ photos.
- They’re spending their holidays in gorgeous places while you’re sitting at your desk at work.
- They’re having their birthday parties with hundreds of friends while you don’t even remember if you’ve celebrated yours or not.
- Pictures taken with lovely girlfriends/boyfriends make you face the truth that you’re still single.
- Beautiful family pics and adorable kids make you wonder when you’re going to settle down and have your babies. It can hurt. Period.
Is Everything That Perfect?
We all share the best parts of our lives on Facebook. We cut out the shitty stuff to make everything seem as enjoyable as possible. We all do this.
But come on, guys! Is everything that rosy and perfect? No, it isn’t. It’s just that we don’t talk about our problems or struggles on social media. Facebook is not for that.
It’s like a photo album where you want to conserve your best moments. You want to share them with your close and not-so-close friends.
Film Time. Why Facebook can hurt you?
Watch What’s on Your Mind. It was a popular short and got more than 15 million views on YouTube. The film is about the contrast between real life and what we post on Facebook.
The title What’s on Your Mind means what are you thinking of. It’s a common question used on Facebook. People share what’s on their minds and what they’re doing. They collect feedback or likes from their friends.
What Is Scott’s Obsession?
The main character, Scott, often checks his friends’ status updates and starts comparing his life with theirs. All his friends seem to have happy and fulfilling lives.
They go to beautiful places on holiday, eat delicious food, and are in happy relationships with their partners. Scott doesn’t feel that satisfied at all. He starts to use Facebook updates to embellish his own life (make it more interesting), lying about everything.
Study Time
Let’s look at some expressions used in the film.
1. Incorrect spelling
You’ll find some words spelled incorrectly including:
- Tonite for tonight
- Clubbin for clubbing
- Gr8 for great
They’re colloquial spellings, so you can use them on Facebook or when you’re text messaging.
2. Expressions
- Quit my dead-end job: You leave a job (you quit) that doesn’t offer you any opportunity for career development or more money now or in the future.
- Hunk: It’s a colloquial word used for an attractive man.
- My life sucks: It’s a very informal way to say that something is bad or annoying.
- Hide all posts: Scott obscures everything he’d written so that no one can see it.
3. Facebook-related vocabulary
Let’s learn some words that Facebook made famous!
Your Lovely Homework
Let me know in the comments what you think about the film. I’m very interested in your opinions.
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