Social media actions
Useful verbs for talking about what you do online: checking your feed, reacting to posts, sending messages, and more.
B1 Upper-Intermediate
Vocabulary
Social media & apps
A Basic actions on social media
-
check your feed
– look at the most recent posts, photos, or videos from people or pages you follow.
I usually check my feed while I’m having breakfast. -
change/update your status
– write a short message on your profile to tell people what you are doing or how you feel.
He changed his status to “On holiday at last!”. -
post a story
– upload a short photo or video that appears for a limited time (for example, 24 hours).
She posted a story from the concert last night. -
react to a post
– respond quickly with an emoji (👍 ❤️ 😂, etc.) instead of writing a comment.
Hundreds of people reacted to her graduation post with heart emojis.
B Connecting with people
-
send a friend request
– ask someone to add you as a friend or contact on a social network.
I sent him a friend request after we met at the conference. -
tag someone
– add someone’s name or profile to a photo or post so other users can see who is in it.
Don’t forget to tag me in the group photo. -
send a DM
– send a private message to someone (DM = direct message).
If you have any questions about the course, just send me a DM. -
ghost someone
– suddenly stop replying to someone’s messages or calls without explanation.
He texted her every day and then completely ghosted her.
C Controlling your feed
-
mute someone
– hide a person’s posts or stories without removing them from your friends or followers list.
I muted his stories because he posts every five minutes. -
unfollow someone
– stop following a person or page, so their updates no longer appear in your feed.
I unfollowed that account because the content was too negative. -
pin a post
– fix a post at the top of your profile or page so people see it first.
She pinned her new course announcement to the top of her profile. -
flag a post/comment
– report something as inappropriate or against the platform rules.
You should flag that comment – it’s really offensive.
D Swiping on dating apps
-
swipe right (on someone’s profile)
– move your finger to the right on the screen to show you are interested in someone.
I swiped right on his profile and we matched instantly. -
swipe left
– move your finger to the left to show you are not interested.
I swiped left because we didn’t seem to have much in common.
Note: Swipe right = “yes, I’m interested”; swipe left = “no, thanks”.
E Live video & viral content
-
go live
– start broadcasting video in real time so followers can watch you as things happen.
The band went live during the show so fans at home could watch the concert. -
go viral
– become extremely popular online very quickly, with many people viewing and sharing it.
Her funny dance video went viral and got millions of views in one day.
At B1 level, you should be able to describe what you usually do on social media, explain how you deal with annoying content, and talk about posts or videos that went viral.
Exercises:
Social media actions
Choose the correct option to complete each sentence below.
1
When you open the app just to see what friends and pages have posted recently, you
for a few minutes.
Correct:
To check your feed = to look through the main list of posts and updates on your home screen.
2
After they got engaged, she went to her profile to
from “single” to “in a relationship”.
Correct:
To change your status = to switch the official status on your profile (for example, relationship or job status).
3
He hasn’t written anything for months, but today he logged in to
about his new job in Germany.
Correct:
To update your status = to post a short text about what you are doing or how you feel at the moment.
4
She took a photo of her coffee and decided to
that would disappear after 24 hours.
Correct:
To post a story = to share a short photo or video that is visible for a limited time (usually 24 hours).
5
When you find an old classmate on a social network and want to connect, you usually
and wait for them to accept.
Correct:
To send a friend request = to ask another user to add you as a friend or contact.
6
On some platforms, you can
with emojis like “like”, “love” or “angry” instead of just writing a comment.
Correct:
To react to a post = to choose a small emoji reaction (like, love, etc.) on someone’s post.
7
If you upload a group photo and want your friend’s name to appear on it, you should
in the picture.
Correct:
To tag someone = to link a person’s profile to a photo or post so their name appears there.
8
You don’t want to see his posts for a while, but you don’t want to unfollow or block him, so you decide to
instead.
Correct:
To mute someone = to hide a person’s posts or stories without unfollowing or removing them.
9
Their content is not interesting anymore, so you decide to
and stop seeing their posts in your feed.
Correct:
To unfollow someone = to stop following a person or page so their new posts no longer appear in your feed.
10
She wanted everyone to see the announcement first, so she decided to
at the top of her profile.
Correct:
To pin a post = to keep one post fixed at the top of your profile or page.
11
Instead of writing under the photo, he decided to
and ask her privately if she wanted to meet.
Correct:
To send a DM = to send a direct private message to someone on a social platform.
12
They used to chat every day, but then he suddenly stopped answering and completely
her with no explanation.
Correct:
To ghost someone = to suddenly stop replying to messages and disappear from contact without explaining why.
13
That photo with hate speech breaks the rules, so several users decided to
so the moderators would review it.
Correct:
To flag a post = to report a whole post as inappropriate or against the platform rules.
14
The picture was fine, but one rude sentence under it was clearly hate speech, so I decided to
instead of replying.
Correct:
To flag a comment = to report a single comment under a post as inappropriate.
15
On some dating apps, if you like someone’s profile and want to match with them, you usually
on their picture.
Correct:
To swipe right = to move your finger right on a profile to show you are interested in the person.
16
If you don’t like a profile or don’t want to match with that person, you normally
and move on to the next one.
Correct:
To swipe left = to move your finger left on a profile to show you are not interested.
17
The singer decided to
during the concert so fans could watch it in real time.
Correct:
To go live = to start a real-time video broadcast on a social media platform.
18
Her funny cat video started getting millions of views and shares in a few days – it really
on every platform.
Correct:
If a post goes viral, it becomes extremely popular very quickly and is shared by many people.
Social media actions
Match the sentences with the social media actions
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