IELTS Speaking Lesson about Social Media – Keith Speaking Academy

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cropping up (= appearing) every year.

Social Media is not only here to stay, it is a growing phenomenon, with new platformsevery year.

An old favourite Facebook, has just under 2.5 billion users, whilst the relatively new kid on the block, TikTok, has just 500 million. 

There are an incredible 3.6 billion active social media users, that’s about half the world’s population. 

How much time do we spend glued to screens? (= stuck to /watching screens a lot)  

Well, 74% of Facebook users check their feed everyday, and spend an average of 35 minutes a day there.

But that’s just Facebook, in fact our addiction to social media goes much deeper. It seems we are scrolling, posting and using social media platforms for an average of 3 hours per day.

It seems crazy, but people worldwide now watch 1 billion hours of Youtube videos every single day. 

Social media goes beyond entertainment, it seems to be becoming a one-stop-shop (= one place to get everything you need) for all our daily needs including, keeping in touch with friends and family, getting news, sharing ideas, even shopping.

Let’s look at the impact of social media on young people.

Many users are teens and in a recent survey in the USA, 81% of teenagers said social media was having a positive effect on their lives. 

So despite the parental worries of trolling, body image and FOMO, (= fear of missing out) many teens feel more connected to friends and think social media exposes them to different viewpoints. 

So that’s social media. 

What about you, how do you feel about social media?