Media coverage of celebrities is affecting the development of children | IELTS essay sample

IELTS essay topic

Many people believe that media coverage of celebrities is having a negative effect on children.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Band 9 essay sample

Celebrity news and gossips have become quite popular in recent times. Newspapers and tabloids even have separate editions to cover celebrity news. Excessive coverage of celebrities makes it difficult to avoid them and children, like adults, consume too much celebrity news on a regular basis. Some people believe that if children get exposed to too much coverage of celebrities, it will affect their mental and physical development. I entirely agree with them.

Children who look at the images of celebrities in newspapers and magazines develop wrong perceptions of the body. Celebrities look perfect. There are no blemishes on their skin. They have flawless hair and perfect figures. What children don’t understand is that most of these images have been photoshopped to create unattainable standards of beauty. They idolize what they see in newspapers and television and aspire to have a face or body like that of their idol. And when they realize that in spite of their best efforts they can’t look as perfect as their idol, many of them start hating their body. Some fall into depression. Anorexia, a dangerous condition that prevents people from eating well, is particularly common among star-struck teenagers. The number of people opting for plastic surgery has increased manifold over the last few years. In spite of being aware of the dangers of these surgical procedures, young people are opting to go under the knife in their desperation to have that perfect body.

Children have impressionable minds. When they see the media glorifying the lifestyle of celebrities, they arrive at the conclusion that being successful is all about being rich and famous. So they try to imitate the lifestyle of famous people. They waste lots of money on expensive clothes and accessories.

To conclude, there is no denying the fact that excessive media coverage of celebrities is affecting the normal development of children. In my opinion, the media has to act more responsibly and stop creating unrealistic standards of beauty or success.