Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of living in a media rich society

IELTS Writing Task 2 with sample answer.

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.

Write about the following topic:

It is becoming more and more difficult to escape the influence of the media on our lives.

Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of living in a media rich society.

Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.

You should write at least 250 words.

Use your own ideas, knowledge and experience and support your arguments with examples and with relevant evidence.

Model Answer:
It goes without saying that media has become an indispensable of our life. We are surrounded by it, from the programs we watch on TV, the songs listen to on the radio, to the newspaper and magazine we read every day. With the advancement of technology, the media has a myriad of access into our life that it pervades every aspect of modern life. However, it is a double-edged sword that has both pros and cons.

To begin with, media conveys and forms opinion on politics, economics, business, culture, and so on. Media plays a fantastic role in forming people opinion in a national issue. In a democratic country, media is considered to be a vital institution, since it reflects mass’ opinion which is very conducive in making policy. Media resonates the freedom of expression and freedom of speech within a state. In addition, media aware people in various social issues like dowry system, women empowerment, violence against woman and so forth. Finally, the most significant and primary objective of media is to entertain people. So, it is seemed that media is prevalent in every avenue of life that we could not think a single day without it. For example, my days are started with the morning news on the television and concluded with the late night news. That is to say that every step that we take is require the help of media.

Although we have been experienced numerous benefits of media, still we cannot ignore its dark sides. On a careful observation, media influences not only the way we act, but equally the way we think. Consequently, it can practice the power to hike a useless, unwanted issue and completely conceal a burning matter. By doing so, media often create an artificial crisis which leads to a chaotic situation. Moreover, very often, it manipulates people opinion and promotes the views of people who are in power in a way that there seems to be the only possible opinion left in front of the society.

In conclusion, we have already embraced the era of information. Now, it is impossible to avoid the media completely. So, what we need is the skill in interpretation with the intention of not to be misguided by the media.