Speaking - Unit 1 - Group Discussion

Group Discussion - Harms of picture perfection in the media

by sir chan

​Have you ever wondered why celebrities always look picture perfect in magazines or on social media? It is now an unspoken truth that a lot of their pictures are digitally enhanced or ‘photoshopped’, so that eyes appear bigger, legs longer or stomach flatter, to name a few effects. Studies have shown that the promotion of such impossibly ‘perfect’ body images might present false ideals to young people, some of whom might even resort to extreme methods in order to achieve those ideals.

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​According to recent reports, plastic surgeries are gaining popularity among young people in Hong Kong. Cheaper cosmetic micro-surgeries, some of which are offered by poorly-trained ‘surgeons’ and potentially dangerous, are especially sought after by teenagers who seek to improve their appearances. Meanwhile, teenage eating disorders caused by body image issues remain a long-standing concern.

​Governments are waking up to the dangers of unrealistic representations of physical beauty. In France, a law has been brought in to force the media to label pictures that have been digitally enhanced or retouched. Popular photography website Getty Images has also banned image submissions that contain digitally altered body shapes.

​Your group has been asked to give a presentation about media influence on body images. You are meeting to discuss this. You may want to talk about:

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• whether there is an ideal body image

• whether the media should be allowed to digitally enhance pictures

• possible effects of digitally enhanced pictures in the media on young people

• anything else you think is important

Multiple Select

Candidate A:

1 Good evening, everyone. We’re going to give a presentation about whether the media influences ideas related to self-image. 2 We need to discuss what we should include in the presentation. 3 Let’s begin with what we think an ideal body image is.

• greeting others; starting the

  discussion

• defining the task

• stating the first point

• persuading others politely

Multiple Choice

Candidate B:

Well, 4 in my opinion, an ideal body image is whatever a

person is happy with. I think as long as someone is happy with

their looks, it is ideal.

• disagreeing

• giving an opinion

• consolidating

• summarising points of opinions

Multiple Choice

Candidate C:

5 I think you’ve got a point that being happy with our looks is

important, but I think that’s not enough. For example, if

someone always looks tired, you wouldn’t think they are

healthy. That’s why I think an ideal appearance is healthy

and fresh looking.

• offering partial disagreement;

  persuading others politely

• persuading others politely

• offering partial agreement

• offering partial agreement;

  persuading others politely

Multiple Choice

Candidate A:

6 I completely agree. A healthy appearance is fit and fresh

looking, and ideally not underweight or overweight.

• disagreeing

• giving an opinion

• agreeing

• summarsing

Multiple Select

Candidate D:

Okay – 7 so I think we can agree then that an ideal body image

is a healthy, fresh look. All right, 8 let’s move on to the next

item. The article talks about the media digitally enhancing

pictures and the effects this can have on readers. 9 Do we think

the media should be allowed to digitally enhance pictures?

• moving on to the next point

• summarizing

• disagreeing

• asking for opinions

Fill in the Blank

Candidate A:

10 I personally think they should be allowed to do so. Readers

want to see beautiful images, and digitally enhancing pictures

can help achieve this. So I don’t see a problem in this practice.

Candidate A is giving an __________.

​​Candidate C:

11 But don’t you think this puts lots of pressure on readers to

be as perfect as the people in the pictures they are looking at?

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(​11 = disagreeing and offering an alternative)

Fill in the Blank

Candidate A:

12 Definitely. It’s not hard to imagine that impressionable

young readers may become obsessed with achieving the

unrealistic looks endorsed by the media. Some might even

resort to extreme methods just to get a flawless face, such as

extreme dieting or even unlicensed cosmetic surgery.

Multiple Select

Candidate B:

13 That’s a valid point. But if we look at this from another

perspective, being allowed to enhance pictures surely is a

matter of freedom of the press.

• agreeing

• expressing

  another point of view

• disagreeing

• summarising

​​Candidate D:

14 I’m sorry, but I don’t understand. 15 Would you mind

explaining what you mean?

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​

​(14 = apology

15 = asking for explanation)

Multiple Select

Candidate B:

16 Certainly. I mean we are allowed to voice our opinions

freely. The media being allowed to create pictures or images

freely is a similar concept, 17 don’t you think?

• suggesting

• rephrasing

• seeking agreement

• repeating

​Candidate D:

​18 I’m afraid I don’t. Being allowed to give an opinion is not

the same as creating a picture that deliberately changes

something to simply look better.

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​(18 = disagreeing politely)

Fill in the Blank

Candidate C:

19 Exactly. As the article says, studies have shown that young

people can be most affected by constant images of perfect

people in the media. This can result in poor self-image, and

more seriously, an unhealthy obsession with their

appearance, which might lead to more serious problems such as

eating disorders.

​​Candidate D:

20 May I make a suggestion? We could quote the reports

mentioned in the article in our presentation. The reports say

more young people are seeking to improve their appearances

by undergoing potentially dangerous cosmetic surgeries, and

the problem of teenage eating disorders has yet to be resolved.

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​(20 = making a suggestion)

​Candidate C:

21 That’s a good idea. Magazines probably sell better if they are full of pictures of flawless people. It’s vital to tell people the effect this can have.

​(21 = agreeing)

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Candidate D:

22 You’re right. We shouldn’t end up thinking that how you

look is the most important thing – this can result in people being judged solely on their appearance. What about their personality or their character? 23 I really think it’s very worrying that digitally enhanced pictures can have this effect on some people.

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(22 = agreeing, 23 = giving an opinion)

Multiple Choice

Candidate B:

24 It is, but most people know that the pictures they are

looking at are usually digitally enhanced. That’s why I’m not

convinced labelling them would be a useful thing to do. It

wouldn’t stop people being influenced by what they see.

• offering partial agreement

• offering an agreement

• giving an opinion

• suggesting

Multiple Select

Candidate D:

25 Absolutely! I think this is what makes this a serious issue.

Even though people know the photographs are not 100% real,

they’re still influenced by them and try to look the same. 26 For

me, this connection between enhanced pictures and the rising

numbers of people with eating disorders is why the media

should not be allowed to digitally enhance pictures or images.

• agreeing

• giving an opinion

• disagreeing

• rounding up

​Candidate A:

​ 27 How about asking the media to put a list at the back of their publications saying which pictures have been digitally enhanced?

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​(27 = making a suggestion)

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​Candidate C: 28 Yes, and this could be something they are required by law to do. I think that would help.

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​(28 = agreeing and elaborating)

Multiple Select

Candidate D:

29 I see your point, but wouldn’t it be better to simply not allow

any digitally enhanced pictures to be used? With what is

mentioned in the article, without the enhanced pictures, there

will be much less pressure for some people to look ‘perfect’. I

mean, apart from eating disorders, there also are the risks of

cheap unlicensed cosmetic surgeries that we mentioned earlier.

• rounding up

• offering partial disagreement

• offering partial agreement

• persuading others politely

Multiple Choice

Candidate A:

31 Do you think that it’s actually possible to stop

pictures being enhanced? I think it would be very difficult to

do this. Perhaps it would be better to label the pictures so that

readers can see which pictures have been changed.

• asking for opinions

• asking for results

• denying opinions

• agreeing

Multiple Select

Candidate D:

32 I still feel that we should ban this practice, but I think you

have a good point.

• offering partial agreement

• starting a new topic

• summarising

• compromising

​Candidate B:

Well, it would be hard to check if all the pictures in the media

were unchanged though. There would need to be a great deal of

trust, and I’m not sure that all publications would be completely honest about this.

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Candidate A:

33 I feel the same – trying to stop pictures being digitally

enhanced would be very difficult.

​(33 = agreeing)

Multiple Select

Candidate D:

34 So, shall we say in our presentation that pictures should be

labelled? 35 What do you think?

• agreeing

• summarizing

• asking for opinions

• disagreeing

​Candidate A:

36 I think we should. I think labelling is the best idea.

(36 = giving an opinion)

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Candidate C:

37 Me too – let’s include this.

(37 = agreeing)

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Candidate B:

It would be worth trying, 38 so yes, let’s include it.

(38 = agreeing)

Multiple Choice

Candidate D:

39 Is there anything else we’d like to include in our

presentation?

• agreeing

• closing

• inviting suggestions

• denying

Multiple Select

Candidate A: 40 I think it’d be a good idea to have a couple of slides that

explain why the obsessive pursuit of body perfection can be

dangerous. (40 = making a suggestion)

Candidate D: 41 That’s a great idea. As we’ve mentioned this, it’d be good to

explain what it is. (41= ... and ... ??)

• giving encouragement

• agreeing

• rounding

• explaining

Multiple Choice

Candidate C: 42 Definitely, and we could also give contact information for

anyone who would like to find out more. (42 = agreeing)

Candidate B: 43 Our time is almost up. Shall I summarize what we’re going

to include in our presentation? (43= ...?)

• closing

• seeking agreement

• rephrasing

• elaborating an idea

Multiple Select

Candidate D: Yes, please.

Candidate B: 44 Okay, we’re going to say that an ideal body image should be

about looking neat and healthy. Secondly, we’re going to quote

information from the article to show the serious effect digitally

enhanced pictures can have on impressionable young people.

We’re also going to suggest that digitally enhanced pictures be

labelled, and finally, we’re going to include slides about the

dangers of extreme dieting and unlicensed cosmetic surgery,

with information for people to find out more if they want to.

45 Okay, let’s finish there. Thank you, everyone.

• disagreeing

• summarizing

• agreeing

• ending a discussion

​Examiner:

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Time is up. Stop your discussion now.