You should spend about 40 minutes on this task.
The age of Information Technology has taken a lot of people by surprise. While it has become a way of life for some, others know very little about it and may be unlikely to learn. Eventually, we will have a polarized society and this will lead to serious social problems.
To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Give reasons for your answer and include any relevant examples from your own knowledge or experience.
You should write at least 250 words.
Model Answer 1:
Our highly informatics era became quite a shock for many of us. At the time one part of society uses new means of information very actively, other people stay in the dark without any chance to make an approach to understanding new technologies. There is a raising awareness of does this problem have a potential danger of slicing the society into two parts which would never understand each other.
It is the fact that many of everyday activities became available for computer users only. For example, if you are a university student, you are supposed to submit your term paper as typed and printed document, they no longer accept hand-written papers. Furthermore, some manufacturers do not distribute information leaflets but give a website address on their products’ packs, thus only the Internet users can have an access to product details. The last but not the least, the computer skills became a crucial requirement for employment in urban areas.
Meanwhile, inhabitants of rural areas do not need new means of acquiring information. Their work and everyday activities do not demand using computers. For example, a farmer can use radio to hear the news and ordinary mail to communicate.
Taking into account the fact not every citizen can use new information technologies, governments would not change the traditional ways of interaction with their people. It is highly unlikely people would no longer have a possibility to vote by filling papers by hand or do other activities, important for their citizenship.
Informatics of society affected those, who have a need for instant information exchange. People, whose lifestyle do not require any haste in communication have an opportunity to use traditional ways of it. I am assured that as long as the situation does not make others change their way of life against their will, there is no risk of receiving serious social problems.
Model Answer 2:
Information technology has changed the world we live in. The advent of computers and the internet in daily life has changed the way we communicate and do some of the basic tasks. While the younger generation has quickly embraced the technology in their everyday life, a large fraction of the older generation is struggling to understand and use the technology.
With the introduction of information technology, things have changed rapidly over the last two decades. E-mail and instant messaging have replaced snail mail and telegraph. Twitter and news websites have replaced television and radio as the preferred source to quickly disseminate news. Common tasks such as booking tickets for a movie or travel can be done in minutes using a smartphone. Money transfers can be made in seconds using online banking.
The younger generation has picked up the technology very quickly. Using a computer is now taught in the primary school itself so that the children can learn the skills that later will be helpful in every arena of life. A large fraction of the older generation, however, struggle using technology in daily life. This is because, unlike youngsters, older people could not learn computers. They had little time and motivation to learn and embrace technology in their daily life.
Today, the world is moving towards a polarised society, where one group of people uses and depends on technology for their daily tasks, while the other group prefers working the traditional way. This difference in the way we live our daily life is eventually creating a divide in the society, which must be addressed for sustaining social harmony.
[by Pankaj Kohli]
Model Answer 3:
In today’s contemporary world, technology has changed many aspects of our lifestyle and thus every work has been computerised. A group of people believes that everyone cannot learn how to use these devices and this eventually divides the society into two different sides. However, I personally disagree with them because of some main reasons, which are elucidated below.
It is true that the speed of technology was on the increase in two last decades, but it prevails rapidly too. For example, my grandmother who has 80 years old, and she is uneducated and can use a cell phone as much as she needs, such as sending a message or dialling every mobile number. I mean, today, technology is not just for the young generation or people with high level of education.
Furthermore, nowadays, we are witnesses of technology even in remote cities and villages. All of them have an access to two most important devices, the internet and the computer because everyone can buy these tools in reasonable price or even by monthly instalments. In addition, today children are taught in primary school to know how to use computers. As a result, if they cannot afford to purchase these gadgets, they will learn in school.
While, there are many individuals who prefer to live in traditional ways. However, these differences cannot create divided society, because they choose this way for living themselves.
All in all, from what has been discussed I pen down saying that technology is spreading all around the world and everyone can use it easily.
[by Sanaz Golmakani]
Model Answer 4:
The use of information technology has significantly increased in developing over the last few years. It has dramatically improved people’s lives with its undeniable benefits. Some people have welcomed information technology wholeheartedly and they are applying this in their daily work routine to improve quality and reliability. However, others seem to be reluctant while adapting this and they are confined with old and traditional ways of doing things. I believe that information technology can greatly improve people lives and gradually all people start using it because of its numerous advantages.
There is no doubt that information technology has changed the way people used to work and live earlier. Nowadays, all the offices, universities and schools are equipped with computers, internet and tablets to avail the maximum benefits of this technology. Furthermore, people are more interactive now by using the internet as a source of medium for communication that is more reliable and cheaper in all ways. It is not uncommon that many senior citizens all around the world are using emails as they find it more convenient. Thus technological advancements and benefits will be embraced by all generations and there is no chance that it will create significant social problems.
However, some people still like conventional ways of work and do not like to change themselves according to the need of time. They like to go libraries instead of using the internet that has a large database of information. They prefer to write letter despite it slow nature of communication. But that won’t last forever. People will eventually adopt the technology and will do things faster and more accurately and easily.
To sum up, I would like to say that the use of information technology is more prevalent in modern societies because of its numerous positive effects. Only a few numbers of people are unwilling to change themselves but I am sure there will be dramatic shift soon in their opinion, as they start getting more and more benefits out of it.
[by Fahad Sultan]