IELTS SPEAKING TEST
Part 2
Describe a time you saw something interesting on social media
- when it was
- where you saw it
- what you saw
- and explain why you think it was interesting
Sample Answer
Usually I don’t use social media that much. It was invented as a means of faster communication.
And another aim was to create an online community of like-minded people.
But, then the invention turned out to be a threat to human relationships.
People started spending too much time on social media and neglecting to talk to their family members.
And this was the case of my family too.
My son was completely addicted to social media, especially Instagram.
He would post his pictures after editing them on his smartphone , and then keep staring at the screen for people to like his pics.
One day he was just following his daily routine of uploading pics on Instagram.
I was very upset and I snatched away his phone and was about to delete his Instagram account when I saw something that made me laugh , and I started laughing so uproariously that my wife suddenly rushed to my son’s room just to check what had happened suddenly.
I saw an Instagram reel – a short video of my neighbor Mr. Satishbhai.
Satishbhai is a respected businessman, and he usually stays very aloof and hardly speaks to anyone in the neighborhood.
This Satishbhai is on Instagram, I came to know on that day. My son follows him so his videos and reels could be seen by my son.
On that day I saw that reel in which Satishbhai was singing the latest song by Arijit Singh.
I was completely surprised as I had never heard Satishbhai’s voice in such a way.
Satishbhai, being a very bad singer, was singing the song in a very funny way.
And he was not satisfied with simply singing the song in his bathroom.
He recorded the song and uploaded it on Instagram.
If you have heard the original song, then you would surely laugh at such a hilarious distortion of this beautiful song.
I saw the full video, and all the while I was laughing a lot.
Just a few minutes ago I was very angry with my son, but after Satishbhai’s funny song, I couldn’t control my laughter and I forgave my son.
And I also requested him to inform me whenever Satishbhai uploaded another song on his Instagram account.
IELTS SPEAKING TEST
Part 3
Why do people like to use social media?
The answer lies in the inherent tendency of humans to make small groups and form a community of like minded people.
And just a few decades ago it was quite difficult to do this. And there was also a barrier of physical distance.
Social media help people to transcend the boundaries of geography, and there is a possibility of real-time communications.
So it would be difficult to resist the pull of social media. And people would gravitate toward that.
What kind of things are popular on social media?
These days anything that gives instant pleasure or something that strikes people as uproariously funny can be all the rage on social media.
During and after the pandemic, people are hungry for more and more entertainment.
And the rate at which content and its creators are proliferating is putting pandemic to shame. ( This phrase has been taken from this editorial published in Indian Express)
So there is more than enough content to cater to the hungry audience. Hence the rise of social media sensations ranging from popular chefs to meme makers to cover song makers on social media.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of social media?
The striking disadvantage is the breaking of family ties and growing distances between family members.
People care more for their virtual friends of Facebook than their own parents or siblings.
The other disadvantage is the wasting of time that could be allotted to creative activities and learning something new.
Despite all this, social media is not without its unique advantages.
People socialize and find kind and sympathetic friends on these sites.
Even professionals form a community that assist them in their learning journey.
The biggest advantage was during the pandemic period when people isolated themselves. Yet they felt each other’s company only because of the social media.
What do you think about making new friends on Facebook and other online platforms?
I personally recommend making new acquaintances on Facebook. This is because it is the need of the hour.
These social media friends broadens our horizons and helps us see the world in a different way. It shatters our deep-rooted prejudices and makes us more sympathetic to other people’s views.
But, I must stress the fact that we should not throw caution to the wind while accepting or sending friend requests to strangers. It may sound a bit risky , but it is a well established fact that there are many fraudsters whose malicious intents lurk beneath their innocent appearances.
*** questions have been taken from IELTSWind
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cover Image by Gerd Altmann from Pixabay