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In many places, people’s lifestyles are changing rapidly, and this affects..... (IELTS Band 9 Essay)

Updated: Aug 27

You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.


Write about the following topic:


In many places, people’s lifestyles are changing rapidly, and this affects family relationships.

Do you think advantages of such developments outweigh the disadvantages?


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


You should write at least 250 words.


Task 2 Band 9 Essay Sample (In many places, people’s lifestyles are changing rapidly, and this affects family relationships. )

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Sample Essay 1

Nowadays, in large part of the world, human life is experiencing quite considerable changes which are impacting on their familial interaction. Though the busy modern lifestyle, based on technological revolution, has brought an opportunity to maintain a constant online contact, this essay believes that this trend is never compensating the gap of a real connection, rather it is inviting serious drawbacks. I am going to elucidate the idea in more detail.

To begin with, previously there was a time when people needed to travel to see their families, whereas now, regardless of their distance, family members can stay connected via different online platforms. Without going anywhere, they can establish real time audio-visual contact via different incredible online platforms, such as Facebook, Skype, Zoom etc. Not merely communication, they are also giving instant supports by means of ubiquitous shipment services. For instance, now parents can pay their child’s abroad tuition fees instantly just by a click on their online account, or simply by tapping on their smartphone.


On the other hand, the modern lifestyle is not free from blame when it comes to a true relationship. Due to the unprecedented ease of connection, people are mostly unintentionally stuck in multitasking, such as they are talking over phone, watching tv, and working on laptop simultaneously. This type of communication is creating an insidious damage in terms of deep and natural familial interaction. This contact style is lack of attentive listening and understanding the speaker, thereby missing a vicarious presence in the conversation. As a result, family members are losing the feeling of attachment and ending up with breaking down, which has a trickledown effect in their overall life.


To conclude, despite some minor advantages regarding the effect of fast and advanced form of human life on family, I believe that the serious drawbacks like unstable relationship and vulnerable mental condition in between family members obviously have more weight to consider.


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Sample Essay 2

In today’s rapidly evolving world, shifts in lifestyle have become increasingly prevalent. While these changes can offer certain benefits, such as promoting individual growth and embracing new technologies, I believe the disadvantages, particularly in terms of weakening family bonds and reducing meaningful interactions, often outweigh the advantages. This essay will discuss how these changes can lead to a decrease in family cohesion and an increase in financial strain, ultimately having a more negative impact on family relationships.


One significant benefit of changing lifestyles is the promotion of personal development and technological advancement. For instance, digital platforms provide unprecedented access to educational resources and professional opportunities that can enhance individuals' skills and knowledge. Moreover, the integration of technology into daily routines, such as fitness apps and productivity tools, encourages healthier habits and more efficient time management. These advancements can lead to a more informed and health-conscious society, demonstrating the positive effects of lifestyle changes on personal growth.


However, despite these benefits, the disadvantages, especially concerning family relationships, are more profound. A key issue is the erosion of family bonds due to the prevalence of individualistic activities. With the rise of personal entertainment devices and social media, family members often spend less time interacting with each other. For example, a family that once enjoyed communal meals might now find each member focused on their screens, leading to a significant reduction in shared experiences and meaningful conversations. This shift can create emotional distance and weaken the unity that is essential for strong family relationships. Additionally, the pursuit of modern lifestyle trends often results in financial strain, which can further damage family dynamics. For instance, teenagers who constantly desire the latest fashion items or gadgets may place undue pressure on parents who cannot afford such luxuries. This financial tension can lead to conflicts and misunderstandings, creating a stressful home environment and potentially causing lasting rifts within the family.


In conclusion, while changing lifestyles can provide individual benefits such as personal growth and technological integration, the negative impacts on family relationships, including weakened family bonds and increased financial strain, often outweigh these advantages. Therefore, it is clear that the disadvantages of such developments are more significant when considering their overall effect on familial cohesion.


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Sample Essay 3

In today’s world, changes are happening to people’s way of living quickly. I think if this modification in lifestyle is a positive, it causes more benefits; otherwise, it mostly damages the relationships among family members.


Change of lifestyle can adversely impact familial bonds. Consider, for example, a father who has started to watch his favourite TV show, which is broadcasted from a streaming service like Netflix, while having dinner. This new behavioural habit means there is less probability of family members engaged in meaningful conversations during the dinner. In extreme cases, the shared meal might even be removed from the family’s daily life. Since parents lead by example, this behaviour detracts the importance of family conversation during shared meals, resulting in family members spending less time together. In another case, a child who is heavily influenced by fashion trends might decide to update their footwear and clothes every month to keep up with the latest trends. Over time if parents are not financially capable to meet his demands, the child will complain and parents probably will criticize them, leading to a family conflict.


Incorporating new routines into our lives, however, can also cause positive changes in the relationships within families. Take, for example, a boy who has begun a wellness routine by going to the gym on a daily basis. Seeing him sticking to this fitness routine, his siblings can be fuelled by this behaviour, particularly when they realize that their brother is getting in shape and healthier. The family’s other children then will join him and they do exercise altogether, which increases the intimacy between siblings. Another example of a positive modification is when a family tries to stay current through the use of social media platforms. This way, family members can potentially find more common grounds to reflect on. When all family members are aware of the latest developments, no one feel left out and they can easily converse with one another and get feedback on their opinions, resulting in closer relationships among them.


In conclusion, I believe that whether bringing a change to people’s lifestyles is advantageous or not for their familial bonds depends on the nature of the alteration. Families need to have transparent conversation to discuss the upsides and downsides the change in their lifestyle can cause.



Sample Essay 4

Nowadays, the way families are living their everyday life is changing fast. This trend has both benefits and drawbacks in terms of its influence on the interaction between family members. However, I think that this change has more negative effects than positive ones since it will ultimately change what family really means.


On the one hand, it has become nearly difficult for families to spend meaningful time together as a result of the fast-paced atmosphere of people's lives. Nowadays, the majority of families require both parents to work full time. Kids have eaten their lunch by the time they get home, resulting in the absence of the vital time spent together between parents and children. For instance, one of the most significant meals in traditional households is supper, when parents may teach their children etiquette or other essential things. Thus, parents would miss the opportunity to engage with their kids emotionally and listen to what they have to say.


On the other hand, in the majority of our families both parents are working full time, so children can learn to be more independent in the future because they have probably already mastered the skills necessary to prepare simple meals for themselves, carry out other tasks, and schedule time to manage their homework after school. Additionally, this benefit enables parents to advance in their careers and increase family income. For instance, feelings do not have to stay home to just cook and clean the house as, nowadays they are able to work and be financially independent.

In conclusion, I firmly believe that these quick changes had far greater negative consequences on familial ties in the long term, even though this trend has some positives, such as the independence of kids and financial gain for the families.



Sample Essay 5

All over the world, people’s lifestyles are altered by their busy work schedules. These modifications are seen negative by many, as they can lead to a lack of communication between family members. However, others think that such development results in a better income for families. The following paragraphs will discuss why the disadvantages of these alterations outweigh the advantages.


To begin with, the alteration in people’s daily lives leads to a lack of communication among family members. People are becoming busier at work, thereby spending less time with their families. As a result, families are lacking in proper communication and bonding. As caregivers, for instance, are becoming busier at work, nuclear families are no longer gathering to eat together. Therefore, the relationship between the two parties is harmed, which might even result into worse in the long run.


On the other side, people working over-time means better resources. With this higher income, parents can afford to own more for their offspring. But this financial well-being comes at the expense of family ties. That is why, in terms of children’s proper growth, phycologists tend to give more emphasis on parents’ mental and physical presence, rather than merely obeying their every material demand. In other words, being present physically to your family is more beneficial than just giving a financial support.


To conclude, the fast changes in people’s lifestyles are heavily affecting family relationships, since it leads to a less communicating and an inadequate interaction among the members. Although this modification means a better income for families, it affects them negatively in the long term. Therefore, considering the familial bonding, the disadvantages of people’s fast lifestyle changing are clearly outweighing advantages.



Sample Essay 6

All over the world, people’s lifestyles are transforming with their busy work schedules. Though some people consider such a development result in a better income for families, in my opinion, they lead to a lack of communication between family members on the long run. The following paragraphs will elucidate why the disadvantages of these alterations outweigh the advantages.


Nowadays, the fast-paced environment of people’s lives has been changing the boundary of the families, it is almost impossible that they could spend quality time together anymore. These days, the general level of income has become relatively lower. That is why, to stretch out salaries all through the month, most of the parents are required to work full time. As a result, by the time they arrive home, offspring have had their meal. Eventually, parents and children cannot have the valuable time together which is must for the children’s proper raising.


In addition, parents would lose the chance to listen to their children or build a strong emotional connection with them. For example, dinner was one of the most important meals in the traditional families, it used to give both parents and children a chance to interact closely and convey messages to the Kids regarding the right manners or other valuable lessons. But this incredible chapter is becoming obsolete because of the unprecedented changes in the modern lifestyle. As a result, lesser parental time is not only depriving children from gaining a proper growth, but also it is breeding childhood traumas which can eventually lead to an adult mental illness.


To conclude, with the advent of modernization and the resulting financial strain, parents are getting heavily involved in their professional aspect and earning better money, but it has an extremely detrimental impact on their children’s proper growth in the long run. This is how the disadvantages of people’s new lifestyle are obviously outweighing its advantages.


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