Social networking sites like Facebook have a negative impact on the society | Band 8 IELTS essay sample

Many people believe that social networking sites such as Facebook have had a huge negative impact on both individuals and society. To what extent do you agree?

Here is a band 8 essay on this topic. Need help with writing? Get your writing samples corrected by me. 

Band 8 IELTS essay sample

Recently, the use of social networking sites such as Facebook, Instagram and Twitter has increased significantly. While some people think that they have negatively impacted  both people and  society, I only partially agree with the statement. In my opinion, the use of social networking sites has both positive and negative aspects to it.

Although social networking sites are often criticised, their positive impacts on the individuals and the society cannot be ignored. They help people to quickly and conveniently connect with those living miles away. With the availability of these sites, it is easy to remain updated with the latest developments in the lives of friends and relatives. Also, they eliminate the need to call and inform hundreds of people when something important occurs in your life. You only have to post it on your social profile and everyone in your circle of friends is automatically informed. Moreover, using social media people can learn about the latest fashion trends. Therefore, there are definitely some advantages to using social networking sites.

At the same time, there are numerous drawbacks to excessive use of these websites. Often most people using these become so addicted to these sites that they tend to neglect other important aspects of their lives. Even though these portals are connecting people staying in far flung places, those staying close-by tend to grow apart emotionally. In addition, most people have stopped calling / visiting their near and dear ones and instead prefer to to stay connected through these online sites. This has also resulted in the weakening of bonds between individuals. Furthermore, often these sites encourage unhealthy competition and lead to low confidence levels in users. Therefore, excessive use of these sites is likely to produce societies consisting of individuals who lack face to face social skills and who have low confidence levels.

To conclude, in my perspective, usage of social networking sites has both benefits and drawbacks. To minimize their possible negative impacts, their use should be kept minimal and these sites should not be allowed to take precedence over face to face or other forms of interaction between individuals.