Culture & SocietyAgree / DisagreeBeginnerHigh Frequency

Social Networking Sites Impact

Prompt

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

#social media#mental health#social connection#misinformation#digital wellbeing

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Band 7 → 9 — Band 7 lists harms and benefits; Band 9 shows that impact is conditional on platform design, user literacy, and use patterns; critically examines whether harms are inherent to social media or emergent from unregulated business models.

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Key concepts in this essay

platform design and addiction mechanics
algorithmic amplification of divisive content
opportunity costs (time/attention)
mental health benefits vs. risks

Pitfalls the model essay avoids

Treating social media impact as uniformly negative without acknowledging community, activism, or connection for marginalized groups
Overgeneralizing ('everyone is addicted') without distinguishing heavy use from problematic use
Ignoring confounding variables (does social media cause depression, or do depressed people use it more?)

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