Advanced topic · Debate & discussion
Social media: connected or isolated?
It's where your students already live — so they'll have plenty to say. The job is giving them the language to turn strong feelings into a sharp argument.
Warm-up · ask three
- What's the first app you open in the morning?
- How long could you last without social media?
- What's one thing you love and one thing you hate about it?
Closer, or further apart?
Let's talk
Discussion & debate questions
Start with the easier B2 questions to build confidence, then push to the C1 stretch. Project the generator, filter by level, and give a student 60 seconds.
Random question generator
Press “New question” to put one on the board.
Deck 1
Your social media life
- How often do you use social media? Which apps the most?B2
- What do you usually do on it — chat, post, or watch?B2
- What do you like most, and dislike most, about it?B2
- Do you follow celebrities or influencers? Why or why not?B2
- How do you decide what to post?B2
Deck 2
Likes & comparison
- How do you feel when a post gets lots of likes?B2
- Do you ever compare yourself to people online?B2
- Have you ever posted something and then regretted it?B2
- How would you feel if you lost all your followers tomorrow?B2
- Does social media show real life, or just a highlight reel?C1
Deck 3
Connected or isolated?
- Can you have a real friendship that exists only online?B2
- Have you ever taken a break from social media? How did it feel?B2
- Do you feel more connected, or more alone, because of it?C1
- Does it bring people together, or quietly split them apart?C1
- Is "doomscrolling" a real problem for your generation?C1
Deck 4
Truth & trust
- Do you believe what you read on social media?B2
- Should you trust an influencer's recommendation?B2
- How do you spot fake news when you see it?C1
- How much does the "algorithm" control what you see?C1
- Does social media trap us in "echo chambers"?C1
Deck 5
Responsibility & the future
- Should there be an age limit for social media?B2
- Whose job is it to keep it safe — users, companies, or governments?C1
- Should companies be responsible for harmful content?C1
- How will social media change in the next ten years?C1
- If you designed a healthier platform, what would be different?C1
Argue with confidence
Useful language
Strong feelings need strong phrases — and the skill to qualify them. Pre-teach these to make the topic work for B2 as well as C1.
Debate phrases
For stating a bold view, then backing off just enough.
Strong opinions
Agreeing & disagreeing
Conceding & countering
Qualifying a claim (C1)
Words & phrases
Topic vocabulary to sound precise and current.
someone who promotes things to followers
"She's a well-known beauty influencer."
to spread very fast online
"The clip went viral overnight."
a space where you only hear views like your own
"Feeds can become echo chambers."
endlessly reading bad or upsetting news
"I doomscroll far too late at night."
only the best, edited moments of a life
"It's all a highlight reel, not reality."
a sensational headline made to get clicks
"Don't fall for the clickbait."
to check whether information is true
"Always fact-check before you share."
Judging-social-media word bank
Words to describe what platforms do to us.
Model debate
Yara & Dani after a detox
Watch how strong opinions get softened just enough to stay fair. Then run the formal debate below.
Catching up after Yara's week away from every app.
So, how was your week off social media? Did you survive?
Honestly? I firmly believe it was the best thing I've done all year.
Come on. You must have missed something.
Sure, but I slept better and I actually phoned people for once.
I'll grant you that, however — isn't that how you keep up with everyone?
Up to a point. But "keeping up" was really just watching their highlight reels.
Fair. Although I've made some genuine friends through it, you know.
That's true — it cuts both ways. It keeps me close to my cousins abroad too.
Exactly. So maybe it isn't evil. It's how we use it.
Arguably. I just think the apps are designed to keep us hooked.
There's no question about that. The endless scroll is the real problem.
So we agree: great tool, terrible habit.
Couldn't have said it better.
Now hold the debate
Proposition · for the motion
More isolated
You argue that likes replace real closeness, comparison fuels loneliness, and the endless scroll keeps us apart even when we're together.
Opposition · against the motion
More connected
You argue that it keeps friends and family in touch across distance, builds communities, and gives lonely people a place to belong.
Your mission
- Take your side, even if it's not what you personally believe.
- Prepare two arguments — each one a Point, an Example and an Explanation.
- Predict one argument the other side will make, and prepare your response.
- Debate: one minute each to argue, then one rebuttal each. Use at least three phrases from the language section.
Classroom game
Hot Take Defender
Draw a bold opinion. The card tells you whether to defend it or attack it — and you must, even if you secretly believe the opposite. Forty-five seconds to make your case.
The hot take
Press “Draw a hot take” to begin.
Your job: Defend itHow to play: Draw a take and read the job. One student or team has 45 seconds to argue it, using real reasons and the debate phrases. Award a point for the most convincing case — being forced to argue the "wrong" side is the whole fun.
Wind down & write
Choose your writing task
Turn the debate into writing. These are B2–C1 tasks — encourage a clear position, real examples, and the qualifying language from the lesson.
01
Write about your first experience of social media. How has your use changed since then?
02
The pros and cons of social media: which do you think matter more, and why?
03
Design your own social media platform. What would be different about it, and who would use it?
04
"Social media has made my generation more isolated than connected." How far do you agree?
05
Write a short guide to using social media responsibly. What advice would you give?
Exit ticket · 60 seconds
Before you leave
Quick round-the-room close: each student finishes the sentence with one piece of real, usable advice.
"Finish this: one rule I'd give a younger sibling about social media is…"