002 CrushIELTS are you the same person on social media as you are in real life

02. Are You the Same Person on Social Media as You Are in
Real Life?
Do you ever suspect people are posting images on social
media that show them in a one-dimensional1 way, to make others
think they are perfect, with a perfect life?
Is your social media presence an accurate depiction2 of who

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you are in real life?

Technology
Talk with a classmate about social media personas, for

Social Media

famous people and for ordinary citizens, and how those personas
are crafted and presented online.
In “My So-Called (Instagram) Life,” Clara Dollar writes:
“You’re like a cartoon character,” he said. “Always wearing
the same thing every day.”
He meant it as an intimate3 observation, the kind you can
make only after spending a lot of time getting to know each other.
You flip your hair to the right. You only eat ice cream out of mugs.
You always wear a black leather jacket. I know you.
And he did know me. Rather, he knew the caricature4 of me
that I had created and meticulously cultivated. Theme I broadcast

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to the world on Instagram and Facebook. The witty, creative me,
always detached5 and never cheesy or needy.
That version of me got her start online as my social media
persona, but over time (and I suppose for the sake of consistency),
she bled off the screen and overtook my real-life personality, too.

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And once you master what is essentially an onstage performance
of yourself, it can be hard to break character.
There was a time when I allowed myself to be more than
what could fit onto a 2-by-4-inch screen. When I wasn’t so selfconscious about how I was seen. When I embraced6 my

Word collected by
Quincy Nguyễn - If you
cannot do great things,
do small things in a
great way


contradictions and desires with less fear of embarrassment or

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rejection.
There was a time when I swore in front of my friends and
said grace in front of my grandmother. When I wore lipstick after

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seeing “Clueless,” and sneakers after seeing “Remember the
Titans.” When I flipped my hair every way, ate ice cream out of
anything, and wore coats of all types and colors.
Since then, I have consolidated7 that variety — scrubbed it
away, really — to emerge as one consistently cool girl: one face,
two arms, one black leather jacket.

Questions:
— Could you identify with, or at least

Comments:
I can totally understand and

understand, Clara Dollar’s online persona

appreciate Clara Dollar's online persona

problem, and how it conflicts8 with her real

problem. It is very occur rent today for

life needs and wants? Why or why not, and,

individuals with social media to encounter

if so, how? Do you think she will find a way

such conflictions with real life needs and

to reconcile9 or integrate10 her online

wants. We live in such a socially deceptive

presence with her real life?

environment where there are so many cases

— Do you know others who have the same
problem? What are their stories?

with these problems. I too had similar
complications with social media, where I
would see all these perfect lives on

— Are you the same persona on social media

Instagram and Snapchat based off how they

as you are in real life? Why or why not? Give

want people to perceive their lives.

examples. Does your online persona prevent

I had experienced insecurity in which

you from expressing yourself in a real way,

what I was posting I would be worried on

and if so, are you interested in changing it?

what others would think and if what I was

Why or why not?

posting, was worthy enough. I think that
Clara will eventually be able to find a way
to reconcile and integrate her online
presence with her real life after she realizes
that people are looking for those accounts


sharing their real life in a precautious and
moderated manner. Not a fake and perfect
lifestyle that everyone wants to have. I do
not know many of who encounter the same
problems but I can see and observe that
there are many cases of these situations.
My contention when it comes to my
identity and persona on social media is that I

portray my life at a realistic perspective and
what others would think of me when I post.
I do it in moderation and open mindedness
ensuring that what I'm sharing about my life
I am satisfied with and comfortable with.

Useful Vocabulary:
1.One-dimentional(adj)
/ˌwʌn.daɪˈmen.ʃən.əl/
Having height or width or
length, but not two or all
of these.
Theo hướng 1 chiều

2. Depiction (n)
/dɪˈpɪk.ʃən/
The way that something
is represented or shown
Sự miêu tả

4.Caricature (n)

7. Consolidate (v)

/ˈkær.ɪ.kə.tʃʊər/

/kənˈsɒl.ɪ.deɪt/

(the art of making) a
drawing or written or

spoken description of
someone that usually
makes them look silly by
making part of their
appearance or character
more noticeable than it
really is.
tranh biếm họa/ mặt
châm biếm

To become, or cause
something to become,
stronger, and more certain.
=> củng cố
8.Conflict (n)
/ˈkɒn.flɪkt/
An active disagreement
between people with
opposing opinions or
principles.
=> mâu thuẫn.


3. Intimate (adj)

5. Detached (adj)

9. Reconcile (v)

/dɪˈtætʃt/

/ˈrek.ən.saɪl/

Having, or being likely to
cause, a very close
friendship or personal or
sexual relationship.

C2: A detached person
does not show any
emotional involvement or
interest in a situation

To find a way in which two
situations or beliefs that are
opposed to each other can
agree and exist together.

Thân mật, mật thiết

=> thờ ơ

=> giảng hòa / dàn xếp

6. Embrace (v)

10. Integrate (v)

/ɪmˈbreɪs/

/ˈɪn.tɪ.ɡreɪt

C1: To accept something
enthusiastically.

To combine two or more
things in order to become
more effective.

/ˈɪn.tɪ.mət/

=> nhiệt tình chấp nhận

=> Tích hợp, hòa nhập.

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