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Read the following story by Erich Parpart and Katherine O’Chee from the Bangkok Post. Then, answer the questions that follow.
For more than a decade, the number of social media users has risen dramatically year on year, as people seek to stay connected with friends and loved ones. Some users have even become online celebrities, earning large sums of money from sales and other activities.
DARK WEB
But about 4.4 billion out of the world’s 7.6 billion inhabitants are not active on social media. And statistics show that some existing users are spending less time on virtual platforms. Their main complaint is that their Facebook feed has become filled with a lot of material that is irrelevant, harmful or simply depressing.
Piyarat Setthasiriphaiboon, an ex-journalist in her thirties, has stopped using Facebook and now prefers to keep in contact with friends and family using other methods. Currently an account manager for a US media firm in Bangkok, Piyarat doesn’t tend to buy things or play games online. When she decided that she didn’t need social media to stay in touch with friends and family, she saw that she had no real use for it. She stopped using Facebook in 2013.
“The information that you can get on social media platforms such as Facebook was, for me, mostly useless. I can find more useful information on other platforms and search engines, so I stopped using Facebook,” Piyarat said.
“I believe the more time you spend on it, the lonelier you get. It is a fake world where people need virtual acceptance to somehow prove that they still exist. I might be in the minority here but I don’t need such forms of acceptance.”
PRIVATE TIME
Some people just prefer to keep their lives private. A 66-year-old painter, who asked not to be named, said he never uses social media and has no desire to do so.
“I like my privacy,” he said.
He does use the Internet for research but doesn’t feel the need for people to “see into [his] life” all the time. It’s an attitude that members of the digital generation, many of whom crave social media attention, might not understand.
INFORMATION OVERLOAD
“Facebook Fatigue” is the expression being used to describe the new trend. First identified in the West, it has now spread to Asia, according to Hakuhodo Institute of Life and Living ASEAN (HILL ASEAN). More people in Japan are getting off Facebook and other platforms because they believe there is too much unnecessary or unhelpful information.
“People have been pouring any information [into Facebook] to present themselves as unique to other people ever since it started. Now they’re running out of new and interesting things to show and some are just tired of doing it on a regular basis,” said HILL ASEAN’s Prompohn Supataravanich.
A HILL ASEAN report in 2017 noted that those born after 1980 see the virtual world as a place to freely build their own personal image. Many post carefully chosen photos that only show them at their best. But some are now running out of ideas or simply growing tired of the game. Leaving the virtual world is now a clearly observable trend in North America, Europe and Japan. Prompohn expects it to spread like a “virus” to other markets in the near future.
Section 1
Read through the story and answer the following multiple-choice questions.
1. What is the article about?
a. How to become famous on social media.
b. A growing trend in social media.
c. The public’s response to online celebrities.
2. What does Piyarat do?
a. She’s a journalist.
b. She’s an artist.
c. She works for a media company.
3. According to the article, how many people are inactive social media users?
a. About 3.2 billion people.
b. About 4.4 billion people.
c. About 7.6 billion people.
4. When was the HILL ASEAN report conducted?
a. Last year.
b. This year.
c. In 2013.
5. Which of the following best describes “Facebook Fatigue”?
a. Feeling tired after a Facebook session.
b. The need to constantly check Facebook updates.
c. Loss of interest and lack of participation in Facebook.
6. What prediction does Prompohn make about future Facebook trends?
a. She thinks that more and more people will get tired of using Facebook.
b. She thinks the number of Facebook users will increase dramatically.
c. She believes that there will be a growth in Facebook use, especially in North America, Europe and Japan.
7. According to the article, what is one of the possible benefits of using Facebook?
a. Facebook provides inspiration for users to help present themselves in unique ways.
b. Facebook can help users to become famous.
c. Facebook helps users feel less lonely.
Section 2
Read through the story and decide whether the following statements are true or false.
8. Social media use has increased every year for the last ten years or so.
…………………….
9. “Facebook Fatigue” was first identified in Europe.
…………………….
10. The HILL ASEAN report found that Thai users are leaving Facebook.
…………………….
11. Prompohn says Facebook users are running out of new ideas.
…………………….
12. Piyarat used to crave social media attention.
…………………….
Section 3
Read the following passage. Then, fill in the blanks with the correct words from the choices given.
…..13….. all young people are making Facebook …..14….. first choice these days. In the United States, Facebook’s base of 12- to 17-year-olds shrank last year …..15….. 3.4 percent to about 14.5 million, marking the second consecutive year of …..16….., after a 1.2 percent drop in 2016. The rise of Snapchat and Instagram …..17….. been partly responsible for this. Online communication …..18….. young people …..19….. involves videos or photos that last for 24 hours before disappearing forever.
13.
a. Even if
b. Not
c. Despite
14.
a. they
b. them
c. their
15.
a. by
b. from
c. with
16.
a. declined
b. declining
c. decline
17.
a. has
b. have
c. having
18.
a. about
b. among
c. aside
19.
a. increasingly
b. increasing
c. increased
Section 4
Write down the adjective forms of the following words used in the story.
20. acceptance
……………………
21. dramatically
……………………
22. habit
……………………
23. simply
……………………
24. attention
……………………
Answers
Section 1
1. b.
2. c.
3. b.
4. a.
5. c.
6. a.
7. b.
Section 2
8. True.
9. False.
10. False.
11. True.
12. False.
Section 3
13. b.
14. c.
15. a.
16. c.
17. a.
18. b.
19. a.
Section 4
20. Acceptable.
21. Dramatic.
22. Habitual.
23. Simple.
24. Attentive.
SCORE
21-24: Excellent!
17-20: Good.
13-16: Fair.
12 or fewer: You'll do better next time!
