V. SOCIAL MEDIA
The users of social media, such as Facebook, Twitter, are replacing face-to-face contact in this century.
Do you think the advantages of this way outweigh the disadvantages?
Sample Band 8 +:
It is claimed that modern technological tools for communication, including social media,
are gradually replacing direct contact among people. From my perspective, the
drawbacks of this trend totally overshadow its merits.
To begin with, it is true that the emergence of social networking websites and
applications such as Facebook have revolutionized the way people contact one another.
To be more specific, nowadays, regardless of geographical distance, people from most
places on the planet can send messages or make use of video calls to keep in touch with their loved ones, eliminating the need for people to gather in one place for face-to-
face conversations. In terms of business, thanks to the invention of online-based communication tools, including Facebook and Viber, people working in enterprises can
conduct their meetings via the internet, also eliminating the need for people to be in the
one place to conduct a meeting. As a result, face-to-face conversations are gradually
being replaced by virtual communication exchanges.
However, the aforementioned merits are totally eclipsed by the potential negative
drawbacks of this trend. Firstly, in this technological era, with the development of online
communication tools, it can be seen that many people are substituting their real-life
relations with digital communication. In fact, a large number of young people nowadays
tend to prefer making friends via means of social media, such as Facebook and Twitter,
to gathering at a real place. In the long term, this would gradually alienate people from
communities, which could even lead to social isolation and a lack of many interpersonal
skills. Secondly, literacy skills of many people could also be negatively affected due to
the lack of social interaction and ways to transmit formal messages. It is true that most
individuals, especially teenagers, often use informal language with several emoticons
when communicating on social networking. Consequently, their ability to read and write
in situations that require formality is greatly reduced.
In conclusion, although social media has brought some benefits for society, the
drawbacks of overusing such advanced technology to replace real-life communication is
much more significant.
VI. FAMILY
People in many countries are spending less time with their family.
What are the reasons, and effects of this?
Sample Band 8 +:
In many parts of the world nowadays, family members are spending less time together.
My essay will outline a number of reasons for this trend and a number of its associated
effects.
One of the main reasons is that adults are too occupied with their work and social
relationships. In countries like Japan where people spend the major proportion of their
life working, many adults tend to stay at work until late evening and hardly have enough
time to have dinner or to watch TV with other family members. Meanwhile, young
children in this day and age are under great pressure from study; and children typically
in Asian countries usually spend 10 hours a day and 6 days a week at school, not to
mention extra classes in the evening. The amount of everyday homework those children
have to do is also excessive, and therefore they cannot think of anything else, let alone
spending time with their parents.
There are several impacts from this trend, and they all tend to be detrimental. Firstly,
young children who do not have time with their siblings or parents are often more
vulnerable to social pressures, such as bullying, because they do not receive enough
affection and encouragement from their family. In reality, those children may grow up
with low self-esteem and sometimes depression. Secondly, family relationships will
greatly suffer because it will become more difficult to bridge the generation gap between
parents and children without family bonding time. This usually leads to conflicts and
unhappiness.
In conclusion, people are having less and less time with family largely due to work and
study pressures, and the impacts of this on both individuals and families are severe.
VII. HEALTH
It is difficult for people in the cities to get enough physical exercise.
What are the causes and solutions?
Sample Band 8 +:
In recent years, maintaining physical fitness and overall well-being has become one of
the top priorities for people. One of the most effective method is exercising, yet many
city dwellers find it challenging to exercise frequently. This essay will analyze some of
the reasons as well as propose some feasible solutions to this concern.
On the one hand, a lack of physical exercise is caused by several factors. First, a large
proportion of the city population devote all their time to working and such a commitment
reduces the amount of spare time and energy for exercising. In addition, the sedentary
lifestyle that many young people nowadays prefer is another contributor to this issue.
Since most teenagers and young adults are used to spending most of their time sitting
in front of the TV screens or surfing social networking sites, physically exhausting
activities seem unnecessary and unappealing.
On the other hand, there are numerous measures that the government could do to
improve the situation. To begin with, a new law that shortens the average working hours
should be introduced. If workers are allowed to leave work early, they will be able to
spend time pursuing healthy activities and habits. Secondly, more financial resources
should be allocated to educating city residents, especially the young generations, about
the paramount importance of physical exercise. An online propagation campaign about
the potential health risks of sedentary behaviors on popular websites such as Facebook
and Twitter, for example, will serve as a warning for people who do not exercise enough
and in turns, encourage a healthier lifestyle.
To sum up, citizens of many big cities, although fully aware of the vital role of physical
exercise, still confront many difficulties in making it a habit, and two main solutions
including reducing working hours and raising people’s awareness can help tackle this
problem.
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