1. Speak
– How would you feel about becoming famous on the internet?
– How do people (or animals) become famous on the internet?
2. Can you match the vocabulary with the definitions?
| Vocabulary | Definition |
| 1. selfie (n) | a. to distribute information, text, photos or videos on the internet, by emailing, messaging or posting to a social media page |
| 2. stock photo (n) | b. a word, phrase, picture or video that is widely shared on the internet |
| 3. follow (v) | c. a photo of yourself, taken by you |
| 4. share (v) | d. to make changes to a text, video or photo |
| 5. edit (v) | e. a photo which can be bought for use in a magazine, website or advert |
| 6. meme (n) | f. to click to say you want to receive updates from a page or account on social media |
Answers: here.
3. Let’s talk some more about internet memes
A meme is a word, phrase, picture or video that is widely shared on the internet.
Definition from Part 2, above.
- Is this definition completely accurate? What are other important characteristics of memes?
- What is the difference between a meme and a viral video or photo?
- Can you think of some examples of memes? Where did they originate?
If you’re not sure of the answers, please check here.
4. We’re going to hear from a man who became a meme.
He is a Hungarian named András Arató, who became famous on the internet as ‘Hide the Pain Harold’.
This is the first part of the video. Watch and answer these questions:
- Who is András Arató?
- Why were there photos of him on the internet?
Answers: here.
5. Here are some sentences from the rest of András’ story.
Can you put these into a logical order to make a story?
| a. I had the opportunity to cooperate with the biggest brands like Coca-Cola. They invited me for a shooting where I had to fly in a wind tunnel. |
| b. I revealed my identity on a Russian social media site. |
| c. I wanted to whizz through all the pictures and close down all the websites. |
| d. Now there is a much bigger challenge in sight. |
| e. It was horrifying when I encountered the first memes, because there were some really rude or disgusting jokes. |
| f. After that, I can say that all the bad or rude or disgusting memes disappeared. |
| g. It took several years till I could accept the situation. |
6. Listen to the rest of the story and check your answers.
Answers: here.
7. Think, then discuss
- Why did the ‘rude or disgusting’ memes disappear?
- What was the ‘bigger challenge’ that András mentioned? Do you think it will be a success?
- András’ story seems to have had a positive ending. Was that down to luck, or did it happen because of his positive attitude?
- Do you think his experience is typical of people who became a meme?
Main photo by freestocks.org from Pexels
