How to talk about Facebook in English

I’m old enough to have gone through all of high school and university having never had Facebook. No one knew what social media really was in the late 1990’s and early 2000’s. That’s right. I’m that old.

Now that Facebook is here, it’s an integral part of many people’s lives. People rely on Facebook for communication and news events. Companies have built their marketing strategies around this social media platform. However, Facebook has its own “language”: likes, posts, friends. They all have different meanings that their traditional definitions.

That’s why I created this English lesson on Facebook. These vocabulary words and conversation starters will get you talking about this social media giant and how we use it. You can also check out my post on How to Talk About Twitter in English.

Facebook Vocabulary:

• Facebook – The larget social media network in the world
• Friend request – When another Facebook users asks someone to be their friend on Facebook
• Profile – A collection of information about a Facebook user
• Log on – When someone signs into their Facebook account
• Page – A profile of a Facebook user that isn’t a personal page. (i.e. a business, celebrity, or fictional character)
• Chat – A real-time conversation with another user
• Post – An update that users can publish for other people to see
• Privacy – The rights of Facebook users based upon the terms and conditions
• Settings – Functions or features that users can customize
• Social media – A term used to describe social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter
• Block – The ability to prevent another user from seeing your information or being able to contact you

English Conversation Starters About Facebook:

• Do you have a Facebook account? When did you first create a profile?
• How many friends do you have on Facebook?
• When you log on to Facebook, what do you do?
• What pages do you follow on Facebook?
• What do you most enjoy about Facebook?
• What do you least enjoy about Facebook?
• Do you chat on Facebook? How often?
• Do you always accept friend requests? Why or why not?
• What is your opinion about making dating relationship “Facebook official?” Have you ever done that?
• What kind of things do you post on Facebook? What kinds of things would you never post on Facebook?
• What do you wish Facebook had as features?
• What is your opinion about privacy on Facebook?
• What kind of privacy settings do you use on your profile?
• Are you friends with your parents on Facebook? Why or why not?
• Do you think people will be using Facebook in 5 years? 10 years? 50 years? Why or why not?
• What social media platforms do you prefer over Facebook? Why?
• Some people say that Facebook is dying. Do you agree? Why or why not?
• Do you think that some countries should block people from using Facebook? Why or why not?
• How many Facebook friends do you think is an appropriate amount for someone to have?
• Do you think that employers should be able to look at your Facebook page before hiring you? Why or why not?

When you’re done discussing these conversation questions with your friends or class, find my Facebook page at facebook.com/eslbasics.