Answer Key: The Selfie

Lesson Plan: The Truth about Selfies and Your Personality

II. While Reading Tasks

Word Inference

  1. advent  |ˈadˌvent|  noun [ in sing. ] the arrival of a notable person, thing, or event: the advent of television.
  2. precarious   |priˈke(ə)rēəs| adjective-not securely held or in position; dangerously likely to fall or collapse: a precarious ladder.
  3. narcissism |ˈnärsəˌsizəm| noun-Psychology extreme selfishness, with a grandiose view of one’s own talents and a craving for admiration, as characterizing a personality type.
  4. validate |ˈvaləˌdāt|-verb [ with obj. ] demonstrate or support the truth or value of: in a healthy family a child’s feelings are validated.
  5. obsess |əbˈses| verb [ with obj. ] preoccupy or fill the mind of (someone) continually, intrusively, and to a troubling extent: he was obsessed with the theme of death | (as adj. obsessed) : he became completely obsessed about germs.
  6. addictive  |əˈdiktiv| (also informal addicting) adjective-(of a substance, thing, or activity) causing or likely to cause someone to become addicted to it: a highly addictive drug | gambling can become addictive.
  7. bombard |bämˈbärd|  verb [ with obj. ] • assail (someone) persistently, as with questions, criticisms, or information: they will be bombarded with complaints.
  8. acknowledged |akˈnälijd| adjective-recognized as being good or important: he’s an acknowledged expert in the field. an acknowledged comedy genius.
  9. ban |ban| verb (bans, banning, banned) [ with obj. ]officially or legally prohibit: he was banned from driving for a year | a proposal to ban all trade in ivory.
  10. phenomenon|fəˈnäməˌnän, -nən| noun (pl. phenomenona |-nə| ) a remarkable person, thing, or event.

Source: New Oxford American Dictionary

Reading Comprehension

True /False/NA-Statements

  1. F- Duckface is an expression often used by people taking selfies.
  2. T- Psychologists differ in their interpretations of the selfie and the risks people are willing to take.
  3. T- Selfie sticks were  banned due to public safety concerns.
  4. T- There have been a series of fatal accidents resulting from self-portraits in precarious poses.
  5. NA-Older people never post selfies.
  6. T-People who take a lot of  selfies  tend to have  narcissistic personality traits.
  7. F- Research suggests people are more likely to text selfies when they  angry or anxious.
  8. NA-People in the U.S. post the most selfies.
  9. T- With filters and apps  people can make themselves look better.
  10. T- Frequent selfie takers may also be giving away their identity.

 Grammar Focus: Preposition Exercise

Since the advent of front-facing cameras on cellphones, selfies have been a  matter of eye-rolling and vague embarrassment. As if to confine selfies’ intrusion into society to at most arm’s length. Moreover, studies show that regular users of social media tend to score lower on measures of belonging and meaningful existence if they are precluded from posting content and feel ostracized if they don’t get “likes”.