© Conversation Although technology saves labour and gives us more time than ever, some people think it is not necessarily a change for the better. 1. How can modern technology save you time in your everyday life? @ For me, the most important aspect is searching for information during my studies. Search engines save me a lot of time by delivering millions of possible results in seconds. | also like saving time on social interactions, since social media sites select only those details about friends’ lives that they think | need to know. Online shopping also saves me time on delivering products, since | no longer need to wait in the queue at the store and can have a product in my hands with just a few clicks. 2. What changes has modern technology brought about in your family’s household? Electric household appliances make life much easier in my family. The invention of consumer durables, such as washing-machines, dishwashers, vacuum- cleaners or electric cookers can save us a lot of time and energy that should be devoted to household chores without these appliances. 3. How have these changes altered family roles and family structures in general? @ The spread of household appliances has definitely changed traditional family roles and as a result altered family structures by eliminating the drudgery and drastically reducing the time spent on housekeeping and homemaking. Using household appliances has facilitated the establishment of single-person households. In two-parent families, they have enabled both parents to enter the labour market and focus on their careers rather than the household. 4, How do you think homes of the future will function? @ | think technological advancement will create smart homes where all appliances are interconnected and communicate with each other. The devices would rarely need supervision and could diagnose themselves and automatically alert a repairman.It may be just a matter of years before our alarm clock switches on the shower and coffee maker, after setting the TV to our favourite morning news programme. 5. Despite modern technology, we seem busier than ever. We still cannot enjoy a twenty-hour working week and retirement at fifty. Why is this so? @ Although technology saves us time on dozens of tasks which we can carry out more efficiently, it creates other tasks we wouldn’t previously be doing. For instance, while the internet considerably reduces the time required to look up information compared to visiting a library, it also bombards us with information in which it’s easy to get lost. Everybody has experienced researching a single statistic, only to find themselves watching some connected music video online. What's more, we need to work more and more to be able to afford the newest technology. 6. Modern technology can be addictive and destroy our relationships. Do you agree? Why or why not? Yes, we can often see people using their mobiles while sitting at a restaurant among friends waiting, or even when on the floor playing with their kids. We can experience less interpersonal interaction and more screen time, which can make family members distracted from each other while they may think they spend quality time together. A lot of people don’t realize that they would gain uninterrupted fun and family time by removing the distractions that come with today’s technology.BA) @ track 7 Technology does more harm than good You will have a conversation with your examiner about the above statement. Give your opinion and argue for or against the proposition. Your examiner will sometimes contradict you. React to the counter-arguments of your examiner, too. You have 30 seconds to think your points over. The following points may help you: > job opportunities > consumerism > health benefits and concerns > communication and social networkingPROS A lot of people are losing their jobs in manufacturing industries because of robotics. Taking up a new job requires retraining, which is expensive and time consuming. Industries are making changes only to sell new products, which leads to consumerism and imposed obsolescence. It all leads to the development of the throwaway society. New chemicals, materials and drugs can have hidden and unpredictable side effects. We can easily fall victim to commercial pressure which can outweigh the known health issues. Technology is killing our ability to have face-to-face communication. Many people suffer from physical inactivity and isolation since everything is made easier or completely done for us. People are forgetting how to do things the old fashioned way. Keeping up with the latest trends is not affordable for everyone. This has widened the gap between the rich and the poor. CONS Technology has created a great number of new jobs such as working with, developing, and maintaining all of the new technology. Computers, email, and the internet have all greatly impacted business. Things can be done almost instantly with the use of technology. Manufacturing goods has been greatly streamlined. This has caused a major waste reduction and lower costs for the consumers. Health and life expectancy is rising continuously since surgical procedures have been made so simple and drugs so efficient. Staying in contact is easier now than it has ever been. You can talk to, video chat with, or collaborate with anybody in the entire world. Today social networking is mainly done through social media sites due to the unprecedented potential of the internet. Utilizing modern technology can make our lives more fun. @ Student: | disagree with the statement because technology has created a great “number of new jobs. An entirely new group of people is needed to work with, develop, and maintain all of the new technology in homes and the workplace. Examiner: | see your point, but we must not forget about those who are losing their jobs in manufacturing industries because of robotics. Student: You are right, but the new jobs make up for it. Moreover, computers, email, and the internet have all greatly impacted business. Things can be done almost instantly with the use of technology. Manufacturing goods has also been greatlystreamlined. This has caused a major waste reduction and lower costs for the consumers. Examiner: You might have a point there, but you seem to forget about consumerism and imposed obsolescence from industries that are making changes only to sell new products. It all leads to overshopping and the development of the throwaway society. Student: | agree with you on this point, however, | still think that the new technologies which are constantly being developed can make up for it. Just think of the medical field. Surgical procedures have been made so simple and drugs so efficient that our health and life expectancy is rising continuously. Examiner: | see, but we must not forget that all new chemicals, materials and drugs can have hidden and unpredictable side effects. | am afraid we are the victims of commercial pressure which can outweigh the known health issues. Student: | see what you mean, but technological advance has led to better communication. Staying in contact is easier now than it has ever been. You can talk to, video chat with, or collaborate with anybody in the entire world. Examiner: | don’t agree with you here. | am afraid technology is killing our ability to have face-to-face communication. Moreover, since everything is made easier or completely done for us, people are forgetting how to do things the old fashioned way. That’s why many people suffer from physical inactivity and isolation. Student: | disagree. | think today’s world simply requires different skills and abilities. For example, social networking has gone on almost as long as societies themselves have existed. Today it is mainly done through social media sites due to the unprecedented potential of the internet. Examiner: | can partly agree with you, but technology is expensive, and keeping up with the latest trends is almost impossible for someone who isn’t in the upper middle class. This has widened the gap among people who can and cannot afford these technologies. Student: You are right, but there has never been such a thing as social equality.gbchiclre Crain TRACK 70 These pictures show the dark sides of technological advances. Look at the pictures and speak about social isolation, cybercrime, consumerism and the side effects of new products. When you have finished talking, the examiner may ask you a few questions.® Technological advance has its dark sides since the older generations or those who are poor, can have difficulties or physical limitations accessing it. This causes many types of social isolation. Even smartphones are not always available in formats as needed by the elderly. Older people are also more vulnerable to computer fraud. For those who rarely use computers, there is a problem in online job applications and interviews. The decreasing number of shops, because of online purchasing, is similarly a challenge for those who like viewing goods before purchase, and online shopping is impossible for people without credit cards. In many parts of even advanced countries, computer and phone access is not always reliable. Moreover, technological advances have created the consumer society in which people often buy goods that they do not need, and in which a high value is placed on owning a lot of things. Today, due to commercial pressure, people throw away perfectly functioning items, from clothes to cars or electronics. There are many industries that are making changes only to sell new products. Electronics and software are typical examples, but many other products are produced not to last for a long time. As a consequence, we live in a throwaway society in which people do not keep things for very long, even if those things still work or are still useful. Nowadays, when people should be trying to waste less in order to save the environment and its resources, we waste minerals and other resources that are in very limited supply. Moreover, we generate such an amount of waste that we cannot manage properly. Modern technology has also brought new chemicals, materials and drugs which usually have hidden and unpredictable negative factors. For example, there are many unexpected side effects of food additives or beauty products. From farming to building construction, new materials are continuously added. Some, such asasbestos, have even proved to be lethal, but commercial pressure sometimes outweighs the known health issues and enthusiasm for new commodities outweighs caution. There are also drawbacks to progress in digital technology, such as the power of a few giant social media sites to shape public opinion; cyberbullying or cybercrime. Hackers can take control of cars or shut down an electric grid. Cyberthieves steal and abuse personal information. There is also the danger of losing privacy since every movement, phone call, and email message leaves a digital trail that can be abused. Questions 1. Why and how can technological advancement lead to social isolation? 2, Who are especially at risk? Why is it so? 4. What characterizes a throwaway society? Why is it harmful to the environment? 5. Can you think of ill effects of chemicals, drugs or materials we use today? 6. What instances of cybercrime have you heard of? Why are they dangerous? 1 t t : 3. What do we mean by the consumer society? ! t i t : 7. How can social media sites influence public opinion? } ;