GT Writing Task 2 / Essay Sample # 182
You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
Write about the following topic:
Some people think that being able to communicate with others online is breaking down geographical barriers and enabling people, who would normally never have the chance to meet, to communicate.
What are the advantages of international communication online? Are there any disadvantages to this?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
Write at least 250 words.
Model Answer:
Online communication today is blurring national boundaries, and allowing people to communicate what was impossible otherwise. There are myriad of advantages, albeit few disadvantages, and in this essay, I will highlight some of these benefits and drawbacks of online interactions.
To begin with, online communication confers considerable advantages. One of major positive aspect is that online interaction removes conventional constraints, such as time and space. With the advent of sophisticated digital device, people can communicate from one end of the globe to the other in the blink of an eye. Another decisive advantage is freedom of delivering messages. This means that messages no longer flow exclusively from the political elites to the mass. Messages now are also transferred from people, multimodally as well as interactively. By disintermediating corporate and government control of communication, online communication has established horizontal communication networks and therefore opening up a new landscape of social and political change. Talking for a long time with dear ones who live far away was unbelievably expensive in the past, but all it costs now is the internet bills which is quite ignorable.
On the flip side, like everything else, there are few disadvantages of this too. The primary disadvantage of online communication is security threats. To illustrate, everything people share on the webs is stored somewhere, and the information could cause financial or personal risk if it gets in the wrong hands. Hackers are growingly skilled in gleaning credit card or other financial information through email address, phone number or other personal information and individuals can be victims of identity theft. Aside from security threats, the lack of physical cues can lead to miscommunication. In simple words, without facial expressions, gestures or tone in voice, there is a huge possibility of misunderstanding.
In conclusion, despite some negative aspects, online communication is a real boon to humankind in the sense that it has disembedded time and space and has empowered mass people to communicate at an affordable price.