Some people believe that technology has made man more social. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Some people believe that technology has made man more social. To what extent do you agree or disagree with this opinion?

Experts throughout both the developing and developed world have debated whether the advent of sophisticated modern technology such as mobile phones, laptops and iPad have helped to enhance and improve people’s social lives or whether the opposite has become the case.
Personally, I strongly advocate the former view. This essay will discuss both sides using examples from the UK government and Oxford University to demonstrate points and prove arguments.
On the one hand there is ample, powerful, almost daily evidence that such technology can be detrimental especially to the younger generation who are more easily affected by it’s addictive nature and which can result in people feeling more isolated from the society.
The central reason behind this is twofold, firstly, the invention of online social media sites and apps, such as Twitter and Facebook have reduced crucial face-to-face interactions dramatically. Through use of these appealing and attractive mediums, people feel in touch and connected yet lack key social skills and the ability to communicate.
Secondly, dependence on such devices is built up frighteningly easily which may have a damaging effect on mental health and encourage a sedentary lifestyle. For example, recent scientific research by the UK government demonstrated that 90% of people in their 30s spend over 20 hours per week on Messenger and similar applications to chat with their friends instead of meeting up and spending quality time together or doing sport. As a result, it is conclusively clear that these technology advancements have decreased and diminished our real life interactions.
On the other hand, although there are significant downsides to technological developments, its’ multifold advantages cannot be denied. This is largely because the popularity of technology such as cellphones allows people to connect freely and easily with no geographical barriers.
People are able to share any type of news, information, photos and opinions with their loved ones whenever and wherever they want therefore keeping a feeling of proximity and closeness. For example, an extensive study by Oxford University illustrated that people who work, or study abroad and use applications like Facetime and WhatsApp to chat with their families, are less likely to experience loneliness and feel out of the loop than those who do not.
Consistent with this line of thinking is that businessmen are also undoubtedly able to benefit from these advances by holding virtual real -time meetings using Skype which may increase the chance of closing business deals without the need to fly.
From the arguments and examples given I firmly believe that overall communication and mans’ sociability has been advanced enormously due to huge the huge technological progress of the past twenty years and despite some potentially serious health implications which governments should not fail to address, it is predicted that its popularity will continue to flourish in the future
In some countries private cars are now banned from certain city centres. What are the advantages and disadvantages of such a system and do you feel that this is something that most cities should adopt?
Banning cars from city centres is a recent trend and it can be seen in various cities around the world. Certain advantages and disadvantages immediately spring to mind when considering this step that city councils are taking.
The advantages are clear. Since cars were introduced, city centres have always been areas where air quality is poor due to the amount of emissions, which in turn affects people's health. City centres become quieter and safer for people to wander around shopping and enjoying themselves. Access to city centres can still be good, as it is usually only private vehicles that are banned, and buses and taxis can still take people in and out of the city centre areas. Many towns also operate a park and ride scheme, so people can leave their cars in safe car parks in the outskirts of towns and travel with a dedicated bus service to the town centres. It would seem hard to criticise this kind of scheme.
There are critics though to the scheme of banning cars in city centres. City centre shop keepers have often been vocal opponents, as they believe that fewer people will come to the city centres and therefore their incomes will be affected. The general public also sometimes object, as people often like to travel in their own private vehicles. In actual fact, banning cars from city centres has in practice not reduced the number of people who travel to city centres to shop. People like shopping and socialising in city centres and they just adapt to the situation. There is no answer to people who want to drive their own cars. They hopefully will just realise that the sacrifice of not driving their own cars is outweighed by the health and lifestyle improvements of a cleaner and quieter city centre.
In conclusion, there are far more advantages to banning cars from city centres than allowing them. It is therefore a measure that most city centres should adopt for their citizens.

Some people believe today that everyone has a right to access to the Internet and that governments should provide this access for free. Other people believe that access to the internet is not a right and should be paid for like other services.