IELTS Sample Essay # 2 (Advantages & Disadvantages)

The influence of social media has increased many folds in people’s lives. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of this phenomenon.

It is true that the impact of social media has increased tremendously in people’s lives and they are spending many hours every day on platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. In my opinion, the advantages of using social media far outweigh its disadvantages.

First of all, the main advantage of using social media platforms is that people get access to an audience to promote their talent, which they may not have had otherwise. Secondly, people can also learn useful skills through social media by watching videos and reading forums. This is because people from all over the world post questions on websites for discussion and this improves their knowledge. For example, many people have become famous and wealthy by creating channels on the video sharing website YouTube. Therefore, it can be clearly seen that there are many advantages of using social media.

In contrast, the main disadvantage of using social media is that it may provide incorrect information, leading to dangerous situations. This is because people tend to believe whatever they read and see online without verifying the information from a reliable source. For instance, unauthorized posts on social media platforms such as Facebook have led to civil unrest in certain countries, resulting in a lot of chaos and lawlessness and the police have had to intervene in order to bring the situation under control. Therefore, it is evident that if social media is not used properly, then it can cause serious problems.

To conclude, even though there are a few disadvantages of using social media and they must be kept in mind, overall, I believe that social media is beneficial for people and has innumerable advantages. In the future, the use of social media is going to increase as the Internet becomes more popular and people must be educated to use these platforms responsibly.

(306 words)