Writing Task 2: Advantages and disadvantages – IELTS Writing Tasks – Online IELTS and English Courses by NIL

Advantages and disadvantages.

Question:
The use of social media is replacing face to face interaction among many people in the society.
Discuss advantages and disadvantages
Do you think the advantages outweigh the disadvantages?

Answer:
Social Media has penetrated the lives of many people across the globe. It has provided the opportunity to share and exchange information with each other without any limitations to the national borders or income status. However, excessive use of Social Media has resulted in limited physical interactions among people leading to a lack of social skills among people. As with the case with many others, the excessive of anything has side effects, so is the case with Social Media. However, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages of using Social Media.

Social Media transcends geographies and income boundaries. Easy accessibility and availability through a mobile smart phone to various applications meant that many people across the globe, without any limitations to their income, are able to take full benefit of Social Media. With a greater number of using Social media, the demand for Social Media services increased. The demand for services further led to two more benefits: First, boosting economy through the creation of top companies. Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn are among the top companies of the world contributing to the growing GDP and taxes. Second, these large companies created jobs and further provided livelihoods to many subsidiary companies. It also gave an opportunity to budding entrepreneurs to market their products and create a source of income. Lastly, Social Media has empowered the populace to voice their opinion, showcase their skill without any institutional support. Justin Bieber is a strong example of the power of social media. Marketing himself on YouTube, helped him to grow faster and gain international recognition and acceptance.

Despite its many advantages, Social Media has disadvantages as well. Social Media mainly hinges on content sharing. Content sharing contributes negatively when the majority use Social Media to watch videos, share memes or send forward messages. Social Media can also be a disruptor as it has led to people sharing fake news and create news for their own benefits. The use of Social Media on non-productive tasks means limited availability of time catering to productive tasks. Besides the above, one of the outcomes of use of Social Media is limited physical interaction leading to lack of development of social skills among people.

The advantages and opportunities of use of Social Media outweigh the disadvantages and limitations due to it. It is important for the users to be aware of both sides of use of Social Media and to use it optimally.