Question 1

Instagram. Instagram is used to post photos online, and quick messages. Instagram stated in Silicon Valley, CA in 2010 by Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger.

Question 2

Probably because they are very easy to use and you can find many old friends from your past.

Question 3

I'm not sure exactly, but my guess would be from the advertisements.

Question 4

I use Facebook to communicate with my family back in the U.S. I spend very little time. Usually, I chat or Facetime with my family once or twice a month.

Question 5

I find them convenient. I don't have to pay any money for them and I can communicate with my family.

Question 6

Nobody in my family is addicted to them. I think people should be worried that they spend too much time on their computers instead of being out with their real friends and family.

Tough Vocabulary

Question 1

I remember a really old social network in Japan called Mixi. I never used it as I could not read Kanji then. Do people still use it?

Question 2

I think people like attention from others. And social media is an easy way to get this attention.

Question 3

I think they make money from allowing businesses to advertise on their site.

Question 4

I use Facebook, but I rarely post things. I usually use Facebook's messenger or email as I had an old email that got hacked and all my contacts were deleted. But luckily most of those people were also friends on Facebook, so I didn't lose contact.

Question 5

Like I said, I do not use so much but it is nice to stay in contact with old friends.

Question 6

I am interested in psychology. I have read reports that overuse of social media can adjust a young person's brain chemistry. Scary stuff, luckily I am not young. I do not know anyone who is addict to social media but my brother is a computer otaku.

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
hacked	ハッキングされた
psychology	心理学
adjust	調整する
brain chemistry	脳化学

Question 1

Myspace. It's an American social networking site, offering similar services to Facebook. It was the largest social networking site in the world from 2005 to 2008. Now it's usually the butt of the joke in conversations about social networking.

Question 2

I have no idea. Personally, I find them creepy. I much prefer speaking with someone privately via email or direct message. I don't understand why people feel the need to broadcast their thoughts and experienes for all the internet to read. I don't need to see the latest cat video that made you laugh and I don't care what you had for breakfast.

Question 3

I don't rightly know. I have heard it said that if you are using a service and you aren't paying for it, then you are the product. I don't fully understand that but I think it means they take the information you post about yourself and share it with advertisers. I have no idea if the advertising is working on me – I like to think it's not but who knows.

Question 4

I use LINE every day to talk to people in Japan. I use Facebook to keep in touch with a few people overseas. I watch YouTube videos almost on a daily basis – I like to watch gaming videos and stand-up comedy – but I rarely read the comments or leave comments of my own. I use WordPress at work, to communicate with both EP! staff and students. I don't think I spend that much time using social media but it is probably more than I think it is.

Question 5

Yes, I do. Both valuable and entertaining. WordPress makes many aspects of my job much easier. Both LINE and Facebook allow me to stay connected to the important people in my life. YouTube is endlessly entertaining to me. I feel lucky to have access to all of these services but I am always cautious about how I use them.

Question 6

I think people's main concern with using social media is that users are becoming more antisocial over time. As a fairly asocial person myself, I can't really speak to this. I'm more concerned with how freely we volunteer information about ourselves to the cloud. Once it's out there, it's there for anyone to use, for good or for bad reasons. It worries me how carefree my wife seems about this when it comes to our daughter. She is always posting pictures and status updates about her. It makes me uncomfortable and I wish she would stop doing it.

Tough Vocabulary

- English -	- Japanese -
butt of the joke	冗談のお尻
don't rightly know	何も思いつきません
keep in touch with	と連絡を取り合います
on a daily basis	日常的に
aspect	局面
stay connected with	との接続を維持
engaging	魅力的
cautious	用心深い
antisocial	反社会的
asocial	社会的
carefree	のんきな