IELTS essay: Do you think that admiring film and sports personalities is a good idea?

The following question was asked on an IELTS writing test held in the UAE in January 2012. Source: www.ielts-blog.com

Youngsters now admire and imitate media and sports personalities even though they do not always set a good example. Do you think that this is a positive or negative development?

Model Answer

Hero worship is in our blood. In this day and age, media and sports personalities are the heroes. They are everywhere – on the billboards, in the newspapers, on TV and internet. This omnipresence has earned them widespread fame and millions of fans who try to imitate everything that they do. Is this a positive development? Let’s examine.

Admiring film and sports personalities is nothing unusual but unfortunately it isn’t always good. A large number of our celebrities don’t set good examples. Many of them are known for their extravagant and wasteful lifestyles. They don’t mind spending millions of dollars on shopping. They wear expensive designer garments and drive super luxury cars. They earn millions of dollars every year so it doesn’t really matter to them. Unfortunately, they inspire middle class people, who can hardly afford this, to adopt the same life style.

Wafer thin models promote unhealthy eating habits. Anorexia has become a major health issue these days. Models and film stars who look nearly perfect because of Photoshop effects have given rise to a generation obsessed with looking perfect. Even extramarital relationships are now considered perfectly acceptable because several celebrities have multiple partners.

Celebrities are human beings too and they have their own weaknesses. Just because they happen to excel in a particular field, we can’t expect them to be paragons of virtue. They are influential people and it would be great if they can be good role models, but the truth is that that is where most of them fail.

On the other hand, we do have something to learn from these famous people. They are achievers. Many of them had humble beginnings. Still, they rose to fame because of their determination and hard work. We can also achieve the same if we make a sincere attempt.

After analyzing the situation, it is not hard to see that admiring and imitating film and sports personalities who do not set a good example is bad. Simply admiring them is alright. The problem begins when you try to imitate everything that they do.