Academic Discussion and Writing Has technology truly given us more free time?

Question: Has technology truly given us more free time? 

 

 

☆Let’s think

1.        What kind of technologies save our time?

Note: Electric appliances (washing machine, electric drill, robotic vacuum, etc.)

Kitchen appliances (rice cooker, bread maker, blender, coffee maker, etc.)

Technology for work/study (computer, the Internet, smartphone, electric dictionary, etc.)

Modern transportation (car, motorcycle, bus, train, plane, etc.)

Others (industrial robot, AI, escalator, elevator, etc.)

 

2.        Are we less busy than before?             

Note: Most fathers used to spend their time with their children at home every evening 30 years ago. Workers used to be able to forget about their jobs completely at home because once they leave their work places, their employers were not able to contact them except by using the fixed telephone. Taking paper documents home for work was rare. Since the advent of pocket beepers, mobile phones, and notebook computers, most workers have been working round the clock.

 

 

☆Ideas and Expressions

Agree: Technology has already freed us from most manual labor, so it has increased leisure time.

 

Disagree: No matter how developed technology becomes, people use it to work more. Thus, technology has not increased our free time.

 

 

☆Sample Response

A        【Thesis】There have been talks that robots will do all our jobs and humans will be liberated from daily routines, but it seems that that future has not been realized yet. Technology has the potential to bring us more free time, but I think that most people feel that they have seen better days.

【Everyday Life】Technology can allow us to finish work much earlier than before in many cases, but we are doing more tasks in the same amount of time as before.

【Business】Robots are replacing humans and there is a concern about job loss in many areas of business. However, in other areas, technological innovation expands areas of its application and increases workload and working hours.

【Conclusion】Technology can bring us more leisure time but it has not. It has even made us busier. 　(190 words)

 

B        【Thesis】Although it is not always the case in reality, it can be said that technology has increased our leisure time.

【Point 1】Electronic appliances have shortened the time we spend on household work.

【Point 2】Also, thanks to advanced means of transportation, we can go home earlier than before.

【Counterargument-treatment】Some claim that technology can even cause less leisure time, citing such cases as developed transportation network makes it possible for students to go to cram schools after school and smartphones make it easier to contact a worker who is off-duty. However, the problem is not in the technology itself but in the society or our values. We are busy because we have not learned to be satisfied with what we already have.

【Conclusion】It is our lifestyle that still keeps us busy. Therefore, technology in itself has helped us make spare time.　(138 words)

 

 

 

Write your response in 10 minutes. Show each other your responses. Write down questions or suggestions to each other’s response.

 

                                               DRAFT