Why it’s time to stop filming strangers in public for social media thrills

Level 1: Elementary / Pre-Intermediate

1
  Warmer

a. In pairs or groups, discuss the questions.

1. Do you watch videos online? What types of videos? Where do you watch them?

2. Do you think it is ok to film strangers in public and share it on social media? Why (not)?

2
  Key words

a. Match the definitions to these key words from the text.

bullying    in public    social media    strangers    the law

1. people who you don’t know

2. when you do something where people in general can see or hear you

3. platforms that allow people to interact on the Web

4. when your behaviour frightens or hurts someone smaller or weaker

5. a set of rules or principles that people follow

appropriate       permission       pranks       privacy       vaping

6. the freedom to do things without other people watching you or knowing what you are doing

7. silly tricks that you play on someone to surprise or embarrass them

8. when you are allowed to do something by a person or authority

9. smoking electronic cigarettes

10. suitable or right for a particular situation

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 Why it’s time to stop filming strangers in public for social media thrills
Level 1: Elementary / Pre-Intermediate
Jason Okundaye strangers in public would be too difficult to do.
25 January, 2023 What can change is people’s behaviour: we
should be polite and kind when we see another
1 When I was younger, I caught a stranger filming person being embarrassed, and respect
me on his phone as I danced on my way to a people’s right to privacy.
nightclub. The video never went online but for © Guardian News and Media 2023
months I felt worried when I was dancing. First published in The Guardian, 25/1/2023
2 Filming strangers so they can be in funny
videos online has become very popular. But the
difference between something funny and online
bullying seems to be smaller now than in the
past.
3 Recently, someone filmed a man dancing at a
nightclub called Fabric in London. The video
went online with the words: “I’ll never go to
Fabric again.” The video was put online so
people could laugh at the man’s dancing, and it
also received lots of unkind comments.
4 The law cannot protect your privacy in public.
However, we should show respect to others.
Unfortunately, people nowadays don’t always
show respect because they can make money
by making videos of strangers and putting them
online.
5 Sometimes these videos are pranks;
sometimes it’s just people filming strangers
in the street. Both are unkind things to do,
especially because people can make money by
putting the videos online. Another problem is
permission: as long as a video is taken in public
and does not show your personal information,
you do not need the permission of the person
you are filming.
6 There was a recent video of a child shouting at
passengers on a train after being asked to stop
vaping. (It was viewed several million times
on Twitter.) Not many of the people who saw
the video thought about the fact that this was
a video of a child. The child’s behaviour was
certainly not appropriate, but what does it mean
when people respond to a young person vaping
on a train by making fun of them?
7 Being able to film videos with your mobile
phone has changed the world in many ways.
Changing the law to stop the filming of
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 Why it’s time to stop filming strangers in public for social media thrills
Level 1: Elementary / Pre-Intermediate

3
  Comprehension check

a. Order the paragraph summaries 1 to 7 as they appeared in the article.

Filming strangers has stopped being funny and is now closer to online bullying.

We should try to change our behaviour and be kinder to each other instead of filming each other.

The writer describes a personal experience of being filmed without giving permission.

The writer describes a recent event where a child was filmed shouting at strangers and asks why
people filmed the event.

The writer describes a recent event where a man was filmed dancing and how people were unkind
about the video online.

People should show respect to each other, but the law cannot stop people from making videos
of strangers.

The writer talks about giving permission to make a video and how sometimes people trick
strangers in their videos.

4
  Key language

a. Complete the table with the past form of the verbs below. The paragraph numbers have been
given to help you.

Infinitive Past form

to catch 1. (paragraph 1)
to feel 2. (paragraph 1)
to go 3. (paragraph 3)
to see 4. (paragraph 6)

b. Write two personalised sentences using two of the verbs above in past form.

1.

2.
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 Why it’s time to stop filming strangers in public for social media thrills
Level 1: Elementary / Pre-Intermediate

5
  Discussion

a. Use the prompts to have discussions.

• “If you are in a public place, people can film you without permission.”

• “Being in a viral video is embarrasing.”

6
  In your own words

a. In pairs, use your phones or a computer connected to the internet to find a viral video similar
to the ones in the article: a prank video or a video where someone has filmed a stranger.

b. Share your video in small groups. Why do you think this video went viral? Discuss
your answers.

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 Why it’s time to stop filming strangers in public for social media thrills
Level 1: Elementary / Pre-Intermediate – Teacher’s notes
4. Key language
Article summary: The article discusses how
the use of phones to film people in public has a. The focus of the Key language section of this lesson
become problematic. is on word forms across different tenses. In this
activity, the focus is on infinitives and past forms.
Time: 60 minutes
Key:
Skills: Reading, Speaking, Writing 1. caught
2. felt
Language focus: Grammar – infinitives, 3. went
irregular past forms, -ing forms 4. saw

Materials needed: One copy of the

b. This activity gives students the opportunity
worksheet per student
to personalise some of the language they
have covered.

1. Warmer 5. Discussion

a. The purpose of this activity is to introduce the topic
of the article. In pairs or groups, students should
discuss the questions. Some of the vocabulary may
be unfamiliar to them so be sure to pre-teach any
difficult words.
2. Key words
a. Ask students to do the exercise individually and then
compare their answers in pairs or small groups.
a. In small groups, students should use each of the
prompts to have discussions.
6. In your own words
a. This task requires students to have access to the
internet. They should spend some time searching
for a video similar to what the writer describes. Be
sure to remind them it needs to be appropriate for
the classroom.

Key: b. They should share their videos and discuss whether

1. strangers 6. privacy they think they are funny or not, and if the videos
2. in public 7. pranks were filmed to be mean or not.
3. social media 8. permission
4. bullying 9. vaping
5. the law 10. appropriate

3. Comprehension check

a. Students should match each summary to the

paragraph number in the article. They can do this on
their own and then compare answers with a partner.
Ask any fast finishers to underline the parts of the
article that helped them match to the summary.

Key:
2, 7, 1, 6, 3, 4, 5
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