雅思写作全真模拟 Task 2 · 社交媒体利弊（Advantages/Disadvantages · 范文+拆解）

Advantages/Disadvantages 题型：两面都写+判断哪边重。

题目 Task

Some people believe that social media has a positive impact on society, while others argue that it has caused more harm than good.

To what extent do you agree or disagree?

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

Write at least 250 words.

范文（约 305 词）

Social media platforms have transformed how people communicate, share information and organise collectively. While they have undoubtedly produced benefits in connectivity and activism, I believe their harmful effects on mental health, misinformation and political polarisation outweigh these advantages.

The benefits are real. Social media allows families separated by distance to stay in daily contact at no cost. It has empowered social movements — from the Arab Spring to #MeToo — by enabling rapid organisation and giving voice to marginalised groups. Small businesses and artists can reach global audiences without expensive marketing. During the pandemic, social media kept people connected when physical meeting was impossible.

However, the harms are more systemic. Platforms are engineered to maximise engagement, which means amplifying angry, divisive and misleading content. Studies have linked heavy social media use, particularly among teenage girls, to rising rates of anxiety, depression and body-image issues. Misinformation about health, elections and climate spreads far faster than factual content. Moreover, the surveillance economy behind these platforms exploits personal data for profit and enables authoritarian governments to monitor and suppress dissent.

It is sometimes argued that these harms are the fault of individual users, not the platforms themselves. But this misses the point: the business model is fundamentally based on capturing attention, and the resulting design choices predictably push users toward harmful content.

In conclusion, while social media has genuine benefits, its negative consequences for mental health, democracy and social cohesion are severe and structural. Regulation and redesign are urgently needed.

逐段拆解

高分词汇

• systemic / structural（系统性的/结构性的）
• amplifying / engagement（放大/参与度）
• marginalised groups（边缘群体）
• surveillance economy（监控经济）
• polarisation（两极分化）