TOEFL Independent Essay. I am practicing for this test, so I would appreciate any comment ;-) Why do you think some people are attracted to dangerous sports or other dangerous activities? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer. In the world we live today, there are several alternatives in order to practice sports or recreational activities. During last decades, extreme sports have become very popular. I am of the belief that people practice these dangerous activities for two main reasons, which I will explore in the following essay. First of all, dangerous sports and activities provide people extreme sensations that cause pleasure. It has been demonstrated that extreme survival experiences trigger the production of adrenalin, which is the hormone associated with exciting experiences, that could be pleasant for some people. Extreme activities, such as bungee, skiing or skydiving, make people to face dangerous situations. As a result, human brain responds through signals in order to an especific gland generates adrenalin. Some people feel pleasure because of this hormone and they develop a kind of addiction. It has been well documented that when people realize they enjoy these dangerous activities, they tends to continue seeking for more and more extreme experiences. For example, a friend of mine started to practice bungee and then he incorporated more extreme activities such as skydiving. Now, he is looking for new exciting activities all the time. He is always saying that he needs this to feel alive. Secondly, an important amount of people practice these activities because they are in fashion and for sharing these experiences in social media. It is not a secret that a lot of people do some activities just because other people do them or just with the purpose of being more popular in social media. In this regard, extreme activities are very well-considered between young people, therefore, they these sports are popular in social media with the goal of obtaining more “likes” and social approval. My sister is a compelling example of this. She started to practice these dangerous activities just because her friends practice them and in order to increase her popularity in Facebook and Instagram. As a result, she actually raised the number of her followers, in the same way that her friends had done it before. In conclusion, I strongly believe that people practice dangerous activities because they provide extreme and pleasant sensations and because they are in fashion and are well-considered in social media.