Band 8 IELTS Essay Sample Nowadays people use social media to keep in touch with others and be aware of news. Do the advantages of this outweigh the disadvantages?

Band 8 IELTS essay sample
Now that news is instantly available on the internet and social media, gone are those days when people used to sit with the newspaper first thing in the morning. Also, owing to the introduction of mobile applications like WhatsApp, the nice and long heartfelt letters that people used to write to their near and dear ones have become extinct. Though there are both advantages and disadvantages to this development, the number of advantages is on the higher side.

The first and obvious advantage is the reduced use of printed materials. Consequently, fewer trees are cut down for paper making. Secondly, the current technology and social media make news available to the public sooner than any conventional media like newspapers. In the current scenario, anyone from any part of the world has access to live news online and does not have to depend on newspapers which cannot provide instant coverage of news. Social media makes this even more possible because people spend a lot of time on social media and due to this any news posted on social media spreads faster than rapid fire. Thirdly, social media has become the most effective means of communication. People from all over the world can come together on a zoom call or a WhatsApp call without having to spend much money. In the earlier times, when an ISD call was one of the costliest affairs, communication with family members in other parts of the world was very limited. One of the most important advantage, in my opinion, is the social and family gatherings. It is very difficult for people in the foreign countries or even people in other states or cities in the same country to attend all the familial gatherings and ceremonies. Earlier, when people missed some function, they would only be able to see the pictures in videos in the form of an album or DVD when they visit. Nowadays there is live telecast option for all such functions and the possibility of video calls enable virtual participation in gatherings. In fact, there was a very interesting article in the “Fusion” magazine about how people get dressed up even to attend a gathering virtually

Of course, when there are advantages, disadvantages are also bound to be there. One major disadvantage is the level of addiction to the social media. People do not talk in person as much as they talk on call or WhatsApp. Actually, even during social gatherings it is now common to see people glued to their mobile phones without showing any interest in the person sitting next to them. Spending excessive time on the mobile can also cause some health problems. However, none of these disadvantages are a reason not to use social media for news and updates. Instead, people should just limit the time spent on social media and also realize that there is a world outside of it.

To conclude, though there are both advantages and disadvantages to using social media, in my opinion, it has brought us more benefits than harm and hence the advantages outweigh the disadvantage.