I’m not sure that other people on the Tube would be happy, but I look at other people more. I like to observe, have a look at what someone’s wearing, you know, imagine what sort of person they’d be. Just try and live in the moment a bit more.

That’s right. No Facebook, no Twitter, no Instagram, no WhatsApp.

What triggered it was a break-up. I think when something like that happens, you need to just let someone die a social media death and just remove them from your life. And then I realised that, actually, they weren’t that useful to me anyway. So, I just went the whole hog and didn’t bother using them ever again.

The point about social media is the addictiveness. Nobody really wants to spend hours and hours every day updating their status and seeing what other people think about them. Nobody consciously wants to do that, but those behaviours are themselves addictive behaviours. Once you’re trapped in that loop, it’s very hard to break out. It’s not that we want to go back to some idyllic past – an Eden before the machines existed … … it’s that we need to take control of these machines and use them for their proper ends.

The bad thing is that you think people’s lives are much more fun than your own life.

When I’m on the bus, I just see people like zombies and I’m like, “Alright, it’s a sunny day. There is something to see, not only your phone.” You know?

I like to be present when I share something about myself with someone, so I can get their feedback and either stop right there or tell them the story behind it, or give context. Sometimes, I might withhold a certain opinion rather than being, kind of, rapid-fire, because maybe it requires a bit of nuance. And maybe the best thing is not for me to just shoot my mouth off online because some headline made me angry. The thing is, the world is real, whether we want to believe it or not, and it’s really important for us to have a sense of where we are in that world.

I don’t like to use the term social media, at the end of the day, because it implies that it’s designed to promote social behaviours, when usually it’s designed to promote the amount of attention that we’re giving it.In order to grab our attention – because there’s so much competition – design has to appeal to the lower parts of us, to the kind of non-rational, automatic, impulsive parts of us. And so, this is why we get things like clickbait, like sensationalism – things that appeal to our outrage. And there’s a whole industry of consultants, of psychologists, who are helping designers really punch the right buttons in our brains so that we do keep coming back for more and we do stay hooked on the products. At the end of the day, they’re advertising systems, not really social platforms.

Some of them take social media breaks quite a lot anyway, so it’s not like I’m doing something that’s particularly divergent;… but they think it’s a good thing, and I think they realise, we all realise, that we look at memes too much, we use Instagram too much. It’s just whether we realise that and do something about it.

There are things that give us, you know, instant pleasure and they’re like the more gluttonous things, like food and sex and stuff like that …… and they give us a really high spike of pleasure. But the things that are the most worthwhile are the things that you spend a lot of time on. So, playing the piano is not pleasant to begin with, but you get, like, a much more steady wave of satisfaction. So, it does matter, because the pleasures that are sometimes the most time-consuming, or the ones that take the most work, can be the ones that are the most fulfilling. Those are the pleasures that are self-actualizing, that help you realise a part of yourself that you didn’t have.

I’m on it probably every day, just to be nosy! I’m sure I could live without it. We did before, didn’t we? 
(End)

• The Tube (noun): London’s underground train system.
• To live in the moment (phrase): to live or act with full attention in the present moment.
• To trigger something (verb): to cause something to start.
• A break up (noun): the end of a relationship.
• To go the whole hog (idiom): to do something as completely as possible, to the full extent.
• The point (noun): the meaning or most important part of something.
• Addictiveness (noun): the fact that you cannot stop doing something when you’ve started.
• To update someone/ something (verb): to give the most recent information.
• Consciously (adverb): in a way that is done on purpose and intentional.
• In a loop (phrase): repeated again and again continuously.
• To break out (phrasal verb): to escape from a place or situation.
• Idyllic (adjective): extremely pleasant, beautiful, or peaceful.
• Eden (noun): in the Bible, the Garden of Eden was a place humans had perfect happiness.
• Proper (adjective): real, suitable, or correct.
• An end (noun): a purpose or goal that something is meant to achieve.
• Context (noun): the situation in which something happens, and that can help explain it.
• To withhold something (verb): to refuse to give something, or keep something back.
• Rapid-fire (adjective): used to describe things that come quickly one after another.
• Nuance (noun): a very slight difference that isn’t easy to notice, but may be important.
• To shoot your mouth off (idiom): to talk too much in a loud and uncontrolled way.
• A headline (noun): the title of a news story or article printed in large letters.
• A sense (noun): a general feeling or understanding.
• At the end of the day (idiom): something you say before you give the most important fact.
• To imply something (verb): to communicate an idea or feeling without saying it directly.
• To promote something (verb): to encourage people to do something.
• To grab someone’s attention (phrase): to attract someone’s attention.
• Rational (adjective): based on clear thought and reason.
• Impulsive (adjective): doing things suddenly without any planning or thinking about effects.
• Clickbait (noun): an internet story, image, etc. that encourages people to click on a link.
• Sensationalism (noun): the act by the media, TV, etc. of presenting news in a shocking way.
• Outrage (noun): a feeling of anger and shock.
• To punch/ push the right buttons (idiom): to cause a reaction in someone that you’d hoped.
• Hooked (adjective): addicted, enjoying something so much that you can’t stop.
• Divergent (adjective): different from something else.
• A meme (noun): a joke, image, video, etc. that spreads quickly on the internet.
• Gluttonous (adjective): doing things more than needed, especially eating and drinking.
• A spike (noun): a very high amount or level, usually before a fall in that level.
• Worthwhile (adjective): useful, important, or a good enough reward for the effort made.
• Steady (adjective): happening in a smooth and gradual way, not suddenly or aggressively.
• Satisfaction (noun): a nice feeling that you get when you receive something you wanted.
• Time-consuming (adjective): taking a lot of time to do.
• Fulfilling (adjective): making you feel happy and satisfied.
• Self-actualizing (adjective): fulfilling your potential, becoming the best version of yourself.
• Nosy (adjective): too interested in what other people are doing, wanting to know too much.

In this text, there are several examples of delexical verbs. Some very common verbs (like: have, take, make, give, go, and do) have very little meaning on their own. The noun after the verb has the real meaning. Delexical verbs are “light” verbs plus nouns that show the action.

Adjectives are often used in front of the noun: “It made a loud noise.”   “I went for a long walk.”   I might have a relaxing shower.”

Have: use have with everyday activities:

“I had a lovely chat with my neighbour.”   “They’re having lunch before the meeting.”  “Let’s take a break.”

Take: Use take when the action feels more deliberate or active:

“Let’s take a walk after dinner.”   “She always takes great care with her writing.”   “I took a great nap!”

Give: Use give when you cause someone to receive or experience something:

“He gave an excellent presentation.”   “She gave me a big smile.”  “I gave him a good slap!”

Examples in the text:

• I like to observe, have a look at what someone’s wearing: have + a look
• … it’s that we need to take control of these machines: take + control
• … or give context: give + context
• it’s really important for us to have a sense of where we are in that world: have + a sense of
• Some of them take social media breaks quite a lot anyway: take + a break
• There are things that give us, you know, instant pleasure: give + pleasure
• … the ones that take the most work: take + work

https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/grammar/english-grammar-reference/delexical-verbs-have-take-make-give-go-do

https://www.englishpodcastscollected.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/BBC-Ideas-Why-people-are-choosing-to-quit-social-media.pdf

https://www.englishpodcastscollected.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/BBC-Ideas-Why-people-are-choosing-to-quit-social-media.docx