TOEFL 2026 Speaking Practice — Level Medium (for score 90+) #05

Listen to each question and give a spoken response. Aim to speak for 20–30 seconds per answer.

Score 100 — Perfect

I remember a time when I was scrolling through Instagram late at night, and I stumbled upon a friend’s post about her recent trip to Japan. She had posted these beautiful photos of mountain temples, and honestly, it made me feel kind of anxious. You know, I was sitting in my dark room, and seeing her life look so perfect made me feel like I was falling behind in my own life. It was a **disproportionate** reaction, I guess, but I felt really left out. Because of this, I realized that I was comparing my behind-the-scenes to her highlight reel. It was a **pivotal** moment for me. I decided to take a break from the app for a while, and it actually helped me focus on my own goals instead of worrying about others. It really changed how I use social media now.

143 words

Score 80 — Good

I remember a time when I was scrolling through Instagram late at night, and I saw all these photos of my friends at a party I wasn’t invited to. At first, I felt pretty bad and kind of lonely because it looked like they were having so much fun without me. It’s funny because I usually love social media, but that night it just made me feel really left out. I started overthinking things and wondering why I wasn’t there. It left a big impression on me because it made me realize how social media can easily distort reality and make you feel insecure, so now I try to take breaks from it when I’m feeling down.

117 words

Score 100 — Perfect

In my daily life, I actually make a conscious effort to avoid checking social media until I’ve finished my main tasks for the day. I’ve found that if I start my morning by scrolling through Instagram, I get distracted, and my productivity just plummets. It’s like my brain gets stuck in a loop of constant notifications. Instead, I wait until around 6:00 p.m. to catch up on what my friends are doing. I think I’ve developed this habit because the impact of social media on my focus is pretty profound; it’s just so easy to lose an hour of study time without even noticing. By contrast, my roommate checks her feed constantly, which seems to make her feel quite anxious. So, waiting until the evening helps me maintain a much more balanced, peaceful mindset throughout my busy day.

138 words

Score 80 — Good

In my daily life, I actually prefer to avoid social media until I finish all my important tasks for the day. I know a lot of people like to check their feeds first thing in the morning, but for me, that’s just a huge distraction. If I start scrolling through Instagram or Facebook, I end up wasting so much time, and then I can’t focus on my studies. So, I keep my phone away until the evening because I really need to stay productive. It’s kind of a strict rule I set for myself. Honestly, I think I developed this habit because I realized that checking my phone early on just ruins my concentration for the whole day.

118 words

Score 100 — Perfect

Personally, I feel that social media is inherently harmful to our well-being, mostly because it creates this constant pressure to compare our lives to others. I mean, it’s really easy to fall into the trap of thinking everyone else is living a perfect life while you’re just stuck at home. For instance, I remember last month I spent like three hours just scrolling through Instagram, and by the end of it, I felt completely drained and unproductive. It’s a total distraction, right? Instead of focusing on my own goals, I was just obsessing over other people’s highlights. While some might say it’s great for self-expression, I think the negative impact on our focus is pretty disproportionate. So, yeah, I’d say it does more damage than good for our peace of mind.

131 words

Score 80 — Good

Personally, I feel that social media is mostly harmful to our well-being because it’s such a huge distraction. Like, I find myself scrolling through apps for hours when I should be studying or just relaxing, you know? It’s really easy to get caught up in what everyone else is doing, and that kind of makes me feel like I’m not doing enough with my own life. I mean, it’s supposed to be a tool for connection, but it ends up hurting my focus and my mood. So, yeah, I think it’s pretty much a negative influence on my daily life because I just waste so much time on it instead of doing things that actually matter.

116 words

Score 100 — Perfect

I believe that it is actually a smart idea for schools and workplaces to limit social media access, at least during certain hours. You know, it’s just too easy to get sucked into an endless scroll, and that can be really draining. I mean, my brother works at this marketing firm in Seoul, and he told me they recently started a ‘no-phone policy’ during lunch. He said that before they implemented this, everyone would just sit in silence, staring at their screens. But now, they actually talk to each other, which has been a **pivotal** shift for their office culture. It’s kind of a **counterintuitive** approach, right? You’d think people would want their break time for scrolling, but they end up feeling way more refreshed without it. So, yeah, I’m totally in favor of those policies.

136 words

Score 80 — Good

I believe that it is a good idea for schools or workplaces to limit social media access during the day. You know, when people are constantly checking their phones, it’s really hard to focus on work or studying. If companies or schools blocked those apps, people would probably be more productive because they wouldn’t be distracted all the time. Also, I think it would help everyone just talk to each other more during breaks instead of staring at a screen. It’s kind of sad how we don’t really connect in person anymore. So, yeah, I think these policies would definitely help people feel less stressed and more present in their daily lives.

112 words