INTERNET

According to a recent study, the more time people use the Internet, the less time they spend with real human beings. Should we worry about the effect this is having on social interaction or should we see the Internet as a way of opening up new communication possibilities worldwide?

SAMPLE ANSWER:

During the last decades the number of individuals, that use the World Wide Web as a necessary tool of communication, has increased dramatically. Indeed, much more persons communicate with each other through the Net. It has been a worrying trend for those who enjoy the face-to-face interaction. However, others have seen it as a positive change.

To begin with, the Web is a great way of communication between people. For example, only by using the Internet a person can talk with those who are living in a different part of the world. Thus, the distance does not matter for it. Additionally, it is possible to send an email to any person on the planet and that letter the receiver will get in a second after it has been sent. Therefore, the Net allows making the communication faster. By connecting to the Web from any place, a person can access any information available there. For instance, read a favourite newspaper or find a financial report of a listed company in ASX.

On the other hand, while people with passion and enthusiasm using the Net, their time of social communication has significantly reduced. This trend has a negative effect on individual’s health and their life. For example, those who spend too much time on the Internet sit most of that time and, as a result, they may become obese. Moreover, this obesity might be a cause of diabetes in the future. Another drawback is that the internet users have the lackings of face-to-face interaction, which leads to lonely personal life without having a partner and children.

To sum up, it is evident that the Internet has brought advantages as well as disadvantages to the person’s life. I firmly believe that individuals as a whole have faced much more benefits than drawbacks from using the Internet as a method of communication because an individual can balance the time they spend on the web and leave the time on other things.

INFORMATION TECHONOLOGY

In the last 20 years there have been significant developments in the field of information technology (IT), for example the World Wide Web and communication by email. However, these developments in IT are likely to have more negative effects than positive in the future.  To what extent do you agree with this view?

SAMPLE ANSWER:

The last two decades have seen enormous changes in the way people's lives are affected by IT, with many advances in this field. However, while these technological advances have brought many benefits to the world, it can be argued that these developments in IT will result in more negative impacts than positive.

To begin, email has made communication, especially abroad, much simpler and faster, resulting in numerous benefits for commerce and business. Furthermore, the World Wide Web means that information on every conceivable subject is now available to us. For example, people can access news, medical advice, online education courses and much more via the internet. It is evident that these improvements have made life far easier and more convenient for large numbers of people and will continue to do so for decades to come.

Nevertheless, the effects of this new technology have not all been beneficial. For example, many people feel that the widespread use of email is destroying traditional forms of communication such as letter writing, telephone and face-to-face conversation. This could result in a decline in people's basic ability to socialize and interact with each other on a day-to-day basis.

In addition, the large size of the Web has meant that it is nearly impossible to regulate and control. This has led to many concerns regarding children accessing unsuitable websites and viruses. Unfortunately, this kind of problem might even get worse in the future at least until more regulated systems are set up.

In conclusion, developments in IT have brought many benefits, yet I believe developments relating to new technology are likely to produce many negative effects in the future that must be addressed if we are to avoid damaging impacts on individuals and society.

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