Jonibek Tolibovs | IELTS 8.5

Thinking outside the box is really important in IELTS Speaking, yet many students either don’t realize it or don’t want to realize it.

I've been taking mock tests continuously for several months, and sometimes, I deliberately repeat the same Part 3 question to see how different people react to it. For example, over the past couple of weeks, one of my favorite questions has been about traveling:

Do you think social media has made traveling more enjoyable or less enjoyable?

Most of the time—and when I say "most of the time," I mean 90%—students respond with something like:

"Yeah, social media has helped the tourism industry and the hospitality sector. It has had a positive impact, making traveling easier," and so on.

The problem is that almost all students say the same thing. But I wonder—have they ever considered social media’s addictive nature and how it has made traveling more about taking pictures and videos rather than truly enjoying the moment?

Because if you actually think about it, traveling was probably more fun without social media. Let's take a step back—if we talk about traveling 25, 30, 35, 40, or even 45 years ago, visiting a new country was a rare and magical experience. You would be fully present, knowing that you might never have the chance to relive that moment again. Sometimes, you wouldn't even be able to take a picture. And even if you did, it would likely be on a professional camera, taken by a photographer you had to pay—not just a smartphone in your pocket.

So, if I got this question in the IELTS exam—"Do you think social media has made traveling more enjoyable or less enjoyable?"—I would definitely say less enjoyable.

Why? Because traveling isn’t as magical anymore. You see pictures of your destination before you even get there, creating expectations in your mind. But in the past, without those expectations—and without a device constantly in your hand—traveling was probably way more exciting than it is now.

These are the kinds of answers I believe examiners love. While objectivity and common responses are okay, I still think subjectivity is more interesting. Giving deeper, outside-the-box answers not only makes your performance more engaging but also more memorable—certainly more than giving the same generic answer every time.

#SixNinesForAReason ⚡️
#BeIntereting 🧠

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