Band 8 IELTS Essay Sample

Many people believe that social networking sites (such as Facebook) have had a huge negative impact on both individuals and society. To what extent do you agree?
BAND 8 IELTS ESSAY SAMPLE
Social media sites are being used rampantly today. It seems to be a new trend. Many people believe that social networking sites such as Facebook have had a detrimental effect on both the people and society at large. I agree with this viewpoint to some extent.
I feel that social media sites have diverted our attention from the productive and healthy activities. The addictive nature of these sites seems to dissuade users from good things. These include enjoying outdoor games, chatting with family members and friends or exercising. Surfing Facebook pages and posting personal feelings through posts, pictures and memes seem to have occupied most of our time.
Another undesirable outcome of social media sites is their illegitimate use in propagating political agendas, hate messages, and fake news across the globe. Contrary to the basic purpose of socializing with friends, these sites are sometimes awash with derogatory comments against a particular group. For example, in India, political sycophants portray their opposition negatively by sharing fabricated stories online.
It has also come to light that some political groups connive with social media corporations to secretly extract data of many users. The recent example was the indictment of Cambridge Analytica for harvesting personal data of many Facebook users for vested political interests.
On the positive side, I admit that social media sites are a great platform to connect with online friends, distant relatives, and family members abroad. It also enables us to make friends with like-minded people. For example, Facebook users can share pictures or video with their peers or groups. It can also be utilized to create and join campaigns fighting social evils such as global warming, trafficking and poverty.
In summary, I feel that social media certainly has some positive aspects because it allows us to stay in touch with our near and dear ones and gives us an opportunity to voice our opinion. Even so, spending excessive time on social media sites is certainly unhealthy. People need to be aware of the harmful aspects of these sites before posting their personal or professional information there.