IELTS Speaking Part 1: Social media
The question
When did you start to use social media?
Do you think you spend too much time on social media?
What do people do on social media?
How to answer it
Only three questions, so each one has to carry more than usual. The second is the one worth preparing: "too much" is a judgement, and a candidate who says yes and then says exactly what they lose to it — the first hour of the evening, the last twenty minutes before sleep — sounds far more fluent than one who lists the platforms. The third question is general and is your chance to speculate rather than report.
What moves the band
- Give the age or the year for the first question, not "a long time ago". I was about thirteen, so around 2015.
- Screen-time lexis: scrolling, doom-scrolling, posting, lurking, a time sink, deleted the app off my phone.
These are candidate recalls. These are questions reported by test-takers after their exams, not official or leaked IELTS material. Wording varies by test version, location and memory. Use them for timed practice — never as a prediction of what you will be asked.
Practise these next
Know the number. Now move it.
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