24 Judging it: Computers have changed our lives: the bright side

1. Computers have radically changed our lives. You are ‘digital natives’, but your parents
and grandparents are ‘digital immigrants’. Work in pairs and discuss with your partner how
your parents/grandparents lived before the existence of powerful computers. Use the table
below, and make notes in the righthand column.

Digital natives Digital immigrants

They wrote letters by hand, put them in an

1. We can send e-mails. They arrive almost
envelope, took them to a post-box and sent
immediately..
them. They arrived maybe in a week.

They had to phone to their houses or directly visit

2. We carry mobile phones everywhere with us.
them at home

3. We plan and buy holidays over the Internet. They had to book holidays in a travel agency.

4. We take photos and store them on our They had to print the photographs and store them
computers and phones. in physical albums.

5. We can find information on any topic by using They had to use books,
encyclopedias,newspapers, dictionaries, TV,
web browsers like Google. radio…

6. We can easily drive to places we don’t know by

using a GPS.

7. We talk to all our friends at the weekend on

social media.
2. Now take three digital facts from the left-hand column above, and write briefly about why
they are positive and an advantage for you – as compared to before.
For example:

“ ........

“ ........

“ ........

3. Imagine that you designed the ‘Top Lap’ computer in the

picture. Say why computers are good for us. Write three
sentences.
For example:

1. Computers are good

for us because …

2. Computers are good …

3. Computers …