Read the instructions for the task. With the information given, produce a text using your own words. (approximately 200 words)
Task description
You have had a class discussion on the impacts of social media. Now your teacher has asked you to write an essay for your class based on some opinions expressed in the discussion and to analyse the positive and negative impacts of social media. You should say which impacts of social media on human relationships are more significant, giving reasons in support of your answer. Include your own opinions on this subject.
Write your essay
Opinions expressed in the discussion:
"It's easy to keep in touch now that we've left school."
"I've discovered a completely new hobby."
"It's good to know there are people who share my views."
"I feel everybody is having more fun than I am. This makes me feel increasingly despondent."
"It seems everybody else has lots of friends. I feel so left out."
"My Instagram friends constantly publish selfies of their beautiful faces and bodies. I wish I were so good-looking"
"Very often I see groups of friends looking at their phones and not speaking to one another"
"There are social media users who seem to enjoy taking the mickey out of other more sensitive users"
Sample answer
The impacts of social media on human relationships
Social
media has had a (1)_________ (REMARK) effect on human relationships in
the last few years. I will focus on the merits and (2)_________ (MERIT) I
think are particularly important. On one hand, how social media helps
people stay in touch with loved ones and facilitates finding people with
shared interests. And on the other hand, how it can damage self-esteem
and body image and may even be (3)_______________ (DETRIMENT) to
face-to-face communication.
To begin
with, the main impact of social media is improving our ability to
communicate with one another. For example, in the past, when someone
left school or university, it was easy to lose touch with their friends.
Nowadays, however, not only can people (4)____________ (SUCCESS)
communicate with one another on social media platforms, but also keep up
to date (5)__________ (SIMPLE) by checking their posts, without needing
to directly talk to them. What is more, you can do this with people
anywhere in the world, because your geographical location is
(6)____________ (RELEVANCE) on social media.
Furthermore, social
media platforms are ideal for putting (7)______________ (MIND) people
together. There are social media groups or communities for all interests
where you can share knowledge and ideas and even form (8)____________
(FRIEND). Say you are fan of a popular TV show and want to discuss it
with other fans, you will have no problem finding a forum to discuss it
on, no matter where you are in the world.
On the other side of
the coin, teenagers on social media spend much of their time observing
the lives and images of their peers. This leads to constant comparisons,
which can harm their confidence and their self-image, (9)_____________
(EXACERBATION) depression and anxiety among adolescents. This is made
even worse by cyberbullying, which remains rampant on social media.
Unfortunately, it has been on the rise amongst adolescents due, in part,
to increased access to electronic devices, the Internet, and at times
lack of (10)_______________ (SUPERVISE) of online activity. It can be
argued that cyberbullying is a more (11)___________ (THREATEN) form of
aggression than traditional bullying, as cyberbullies can remain
(12)____________ (ANONYMITY), causing bullying to occur around the
clock. What is also an issue is that the act of a cyberbully can be
viewed (13)____________ (REPEAT) and shared with others without limit,
making it difficult for support networks to shield victims from
cyberbullying. (14)____________ (LIKE) traditional bullying,
cyberbullying can be (15)____________ (GO), even after the youth has
left school grounds, making a teen feel (16)___________ (HELP) and
without haven.
In addition, cell phones connect us to people far
away – but distance us from the ones right in front of us. No one would
dispute the fact that smartphones have changed the world. As a matter of
fact, a quick glance around any street or (17)___________ (COMMUNE)
space shows how (18)______________ (DOMINATION) our favourite digital
devices have become. We are familiar with the sight of groups of
teenagers not talking, but (19)___________ (EAGER) composing messages
and posts on their screens. Or seeing couples dining (20)______________
(SILENT) in restaurants, ignoring the romantic (21)____________
(FLICKER) candle in favour of the (22)___________ (COMFORT) blue light
of their phones. But why do these devices that are meant to connect us
when we are far apart seem to cause so much division when we are close
together? There can be no doubt that even in a (23)________ (RAPID)
(24)____________ (DIGIT) world, face-to-face interactions remain the
most (25)____________ (INTIMACY) ones.
In conclusion, there are
many positive aspects of social media for human relationships.
Personally speaking, I think the most (26)___________ (SIGNIFICANCE) of
these is how it enhances our ability to stay in touch, something that is
becoming (27)_____________ (INCREASE) difficult to do in real life due
to the changes our society is going through. Nevertheless, we need to be
aware of the (28)______________ (DESIRE) effects social media can
exert, not (29)__________ (LESS) on young minds and as a society take
the necessary measures to avoid any (30)___________ (HARM) consequences.
KEY
1. remarkable
2. demerits
3. detrimental
4. successfully
5. simply
6. irrelevant
7. like-minded
8. friendships
9. exacerbating
10. supervision
11. threatening
12. anonymous
13. repeatedly
14. Unlike
15. ongoing
16. helpless
17. communal
18. dominant
19. eagerly
20. silently
21. flickering
22. comforting
23. rapidly
24. digitised
25. intimate
26. significant
27. increasingly
28. undesirable
29. least
30. harmful
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