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Speaking Part 3 - Details discussion (part 3)
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IELTS Speaking Part 3 topic: Natural environment.
1. Why is it important to protect the natural environment?
2. What environmental problems are common in your country?
3. What can the government in your country do to deal with those problems?
4. What technological innovations should the world develop to protect the environment?
5. Do you think the youth these days care about the environment? Why do you think so?
6. Environmental problems are too big to be dealt at the individual level? Do you agree? Why/ Why not?
Q. 1. Why is it important to protect the natural environment?
Answer: The natural environment is probably the most important resource around us as it pretty much protects and governs our lives by providing us with whatever we need to survive. It provides us with food, water, oxygen, power, energy and many, many other things. It also helps us to live a healthy life by clearing the pollution of our atmosphere. Finally, it is important to protect the natural environment around us in order to maintain the biodiversity (having varieties of plants and animal species) for the overall well-being of our planet. Our very existence in this world is dependant on the natural environment we live in. So we should take every step possible to protect it for our own survival.
Q. 2. What environmental problems are common in your country?
Answer: There are a number of common environmental problems in my country. To start with, a certain part of my country is turning into a “semi-desert”, due to the lack of water, where temperatures are rising. Besides, the number of forests, as well as the number of some rare species of animals in them, is also getting reduced alarmingly, threatening to destroy the biodiversity of my country. Finally, our lands and waters also are becoming increasingly polluted with plastic products and other harmful substances because of the unavailability of proper waste disposal systems.
Q. 3. What can the government in your country do to deal with those problems?
Answer: The government can do plenty in my country to deal with these problems. First, they can completely ban the use of plastic products and replace them with some environmental-friendly products. It can also offer some incentives for not using these harmful products. The government can also take the necessary steps to plant more and more trees to make up the loss of forests while improving the waste disposal systems in order to reduce the land and water pollution. However, it is also important to understand that the government alone is not able to deal with these environmental problems successfully unless it takes concrete steps to raise public awareness about the dangers of environmental pollutions.
Q. 4. What technological innovations should the world develop to protect the environment?
Answer: Technology has fundamentally changed the way we live and work, and so, it is about time that we develop and use technological innovations to protect our environment also. For example, “advanced remote sensing technologies” can help us plan, monitor and evaluate the impacts of building “extractive” industries, involving “extraction” of raw materials from the earth, in the ecologically-sensitive areas. In the same manner, “drone” technology can help us monitor the health of our forests and wildlife in some remote and otherwise inaccessible areas. Finally, we can also use AI (artificial intelligence) driven technologies to carry out our environmental conservation efforts by having much more precise information on the extreme climate changes, affecting our earth’s environment negatively.
Q. 5. Do you think the youth these days care about the environment? Why do you think so?
Answer: No, I don’t really think that the youth these days like to care about the environment primarily because they are just too pre-occupied with either enjoying the comforts and luxuries of their lives or running to “acquire” them as if there is no tomorrow. In fact, German “Federal office for the Environment” conducted a survey in 2016 and found out that just 21 per cent of 14- to-25-year-olds believed that an intact natural environment and the chance to enjoy it were important parts of having a "good life". Besides, it is also possible that the electronic media, along with the authorities, today are not exactly doing a good job in raising the awareness of taking care of the environment among the youth.
Q. 6. Environmental problems are too big to be dealt at the individual level? Do you agree? Why/Why not?
Answer: Yes, I have no doubt in my mind that environmental problems are too big to deal with at the individual level simply because they don’t have the required resources, knowledge and the technologies to solve the problems of such big magnitude. Besides, there is no boundary between our rivers, forests, earth’s atmosphere, as well as the air, we breathe. Therefore, no matter how hard, some individuals, in some parts of a country or the world, are trying to clean up their “environment”, if it is not “coincided” and “coordinated” with the others somewhere else, then the chances are that it is doing no good. And, unfortunately, “coordination” is something which can’t be “enforced” without the governments’ active involvement in such cases.
IELTS Speaking Part 3 topic: Leadership and politics.
1. Do you think people are born to be leaders? Why/ Why not?
2. Can leadership skills be taught? Why/ Why not?
3. Why are elected politicians often so unpopular?
4. What should a leader do to remain popular?
5. Do you think unelected heads of state are a good idea? Why/ Why not?
6. In your opinion what qualities a political leader should have?
Q. 1. Do you think people are born to be leaders? Why/ Why not?
Answer: No, I don’t really like to think that people are born to be leaders. Rather, leaders are made by the circumstances one lives in as well as the people one likes to identify with. Of course, it takes some special skills and “abilities”, which may or may not be inherited, to become leaders, but one has to work really hard to master those ‘skills and abilities’. However, just mastering those skills and abilities are not enough either as one would also need to put those skills and abilities to proper use in order to overcome the right challenges at the right times to be considered as “leaders”.
Q. 2. Can leadership skills be taught?Why/ Why not?
Answer: Yes, I do think that “leadership” skills, just like any other skills, can be taught and learned because “leaders” are not a different bred of people, nor they are “born” as leaders. However, the difference between the “prospective” leaders and the others is that the prospective leaders make a huge stride and are motivated to climb the ladder of success in order to help others and lead in an organization where everybody else fails. Of course, some people have some natural leadership skills and qualities, but it doesn’t necessarily mean that others can’t achieve them with hard work and dedication.
Q. 3. Why are elected politicians often so unpopular?
Answer: Well, I can provide at least “trillions” of reasons for which many elected politicians are often so unpopular. But, I will mention here only a few of them to save the so-called politicians some “embarrassments” except, of course, they just have no “shame”. Oops! It looks like I've just mentioned one of the reasons! Anyway, to continue, politicians are often so unpopular because they have some “unparallel” abilities to “lie” to their teeth as long as they are “awake”. Finally, they are often so despised because they are “financially corrupted”, and they can go to any length in order to oppress the poor and silence their “critiques”. They often fail to fulfil the promises they themselves make to ordinary citizens and amass wealth in unfair ways. Once elected, these politicians forget their responsibilities and exercise power for their own benefits while ignoring the wellbeing of the mass people.
Q. 4. What should a leader do to remain popular?
Answer: Remaining popular for a leader is a very tricky business because the very reasons, for which they are popular at a certain point of time, can make them unpopular at other times also. But, generally speaking, a leader has to understand the ‘pulse’ of his or her supporters most of the time. He also has to be honest about how he chooses to fight for the causes of his support base. Besides, a leader has to make sure that he doesn’t earn his livings by corruption or by “flexing” his muscle in order to remain popular. Finally, a politician has to work really hard to deliver on his promises in order to remain popular.
Q. 5. Do you think unelected heads of state are a good idea? Why/ Why not?
Answer: Honestly speaking, I really think that it is a great idea to put unelected officials as the heads of the states as long as there is solid transparency in accountability. The election in these days can be rigged easily, and, as a result, it is very possible that the real “winners” or elected officials are not exactly getting the chances to hold the office. However, it wouldn’t really be so bad itself if not so much money and time were invested in holding these elections. Besides, in some “developing” countries, we also witness a lot of violence during the election times which can actually divide an entire nation.
Q. 6. In your opinion what qualities a political leader should have?
Answer: In order to be a good political leader, a person has to have some common qualities which may include patience, fairness, commitment, and good educational qualification to understand the different situation dynamics, and the ability to arouse the public passion in a positive way. Besides, a political leader should also have the quality to connect with his supporters on a grass root level so that he is able to know about what makes his supporters happy and what makes them unhappy. Finally, he also has to be honest and dedicated to the causes of bringing solutions to the problems, not only for his supporters but also for those people who don’t support him.
IELTS Speaking Part 3 topic: Life experience.
1. Do you agree that we learn best from our mistakes?
2. What’s the best way to gain experience in life? Why is so?
3. Can we gain life experience from books and movies? Why/ Why not?
4. Which is more important, experience or potential? Why?
5. What experience do you wish you had gained? Wh do you think so?
6. Why do some people fail to learn from their experience?
Q. 1. Do you agree that we learn best from our mistakes?
Answer: People say that the mistakes we make are our best teachers because they can teach us many things. In fact, some of the most important life lessons, we would ever learn, will be from our mistakes or bad decisions. So, I do agree with the suggestion that we learn best from our mistakes, only if we choose to learn from them, by not committing the same mistakes in the future. However, whether we learn best from our mistakes or not depends a lot on how much damage is inflicted upon us. If we are made to “pay” very little or nothing for our mistakes, the chances are that we will never learn from our mistakes.
Q. 2. What’s the best way to gain experience in life?
Answer: Well, in my opinion, the best way to gain experience is to do some experimentations, and take some calculated risks and random decisions even when we know that we would probably “fail” in some real-life situations. And, as we make those little experimentations or make random decisions, we can reflect on the outcomes or experiences, whether we fail or succeed, so that when we face the same kinds of situation in the future, we exactly know from our previous experiences as to what kinds of adjustment are needed, if any at all, in order to get the best possible results. If we never try, we will never know what we are good at and without trying we can never gain any experience.
Q. 3. Can we gain life experience from books and movies? Why/ Why not?
Answer: No, we can’t really gain life experiences from books and movies mainly because one actually has to live through real-life situations in order to gain experience. No doubt that books and movies can present some real stories and experiences of individuals in a very rational and realistic manner except, of course, the problem is each and every person in this world is different with different mindsets, skills, abilities and talents. Therefore, just because one individual experiences something in a certain situation, it doesn’t necessarily mean that another person will experience the same thing in the same manner.
Q. 4. Which is more important, experience or potential? Why?
Answer: I would say that "experience" is more important than "potential" at any time of the day. Having experience usually means that a person has the proven track records of getting things done. Having experience, more often than not, makes somebody confident about doing something very challenging in adverse condition. Besides, having experiences helps somebody to make wise decisions, especially when facing difficult choices. Finally, experience makes someone mature and respected, and as a result, others around him feel confident enough to follow his lead. On the contrary, "potential" of a person is often unexplored and untested unless a really good mentor or our confidence bring it to work.
Q. 5. What experience do you wish you had gained? Wh do you think so?
Answer: Well, I am lucky that I really have some great experiences in my life, but more is always better. Isn’t it? So, sometimes, I really wish that I had the experience of travelling at least two to three countries from each continent in order to experience what this beautiful world has in store for us. Besides, I also want to be able to write on my own travel experiences as well in my own website, which I am planning to launch in near future, in addition to the experiences of other travellers in my country. Besides, I wish I were able to write the way some good writers can tell their stories.
Q. 6. Why do some people fail to learn from their experience?
Answer: Some people fail to learn from their experience probably because they are too arrogant to understand they can also learn something, well, from “anything” or “anybody”. Then, there are some other people who fail to learn from their experiences because the experiences are probably too “embarrassing” for them sometimes, and as a result, they just don’t like to remember any part of it. Finally, some people don’t learn from their experiences because they like to “justify” them, no matter how “undesirable” the experiences really are, by essentially blaming the others for their own experiences and fate.
IELTS Speaking Part 3 topic: Influence of television.
1. How popular is watching television in your country?
2. Tell me about the types of programmes that are generally on television in your country.
3. Why do people like watching television?
4. Which one do you think is better - state or private television? Why?
5. What effects can watching television have on children?
6. How TV programmes differ now than that of 10 years ago?
Q. 1. How popular is watching television in your country?
Answer: Watching television is very popular in my country because it is one of the two major traditional media (the other one is “movie theatres”) which offers entertainment to our people. In fact, it is very hard to find a household in my country which doesn’t have at least one TV, if not more, in it. Even stores, businesses, and offices in my country have televisions so that people and workers get to enjoy some news and entertainment in order to relax a little during their break times.
Q. 2. Tell me about the types of programmes that are generally on television in your country.
Answer: There are all kinds of programs on television in my country which are watched fairly on a regular basis. These programs include hourly news programs, political talk shows, musical programs, education quiz shows, movie shows, documentary programs, magazine shows, dance shows, cooking shows, drama serials, travel adventure programs, sports shows, and agricultural shows.
Q. 3. Why do people like watching television? Why?
Answer: People like to watch television because it helps them to unwind from a stressful day. It also allows them to spend some quality times with their loved ones and families while watching some entertaining and funny shows, sports and comedy movies, with them. People like to watch television also because they want to remain informed about what’s happening in their parts of the world as well as the rest. Finally, they also want to educate themselves by watching some educational programs in order to connect with the world on an intellectual level.
Q. 4. Which one do you think is better - state or private television? Why?
Answer: I would say that state television is better primarily because they have a more diverse program set in order to engage their audiences. Besides, state TV channels usually exercise better caution and jurisprudence in airing the “controversial” programs so that they don’t spark any further controversy. Finally, state TV is funded by the general public, and as a result, the programs, it usually broadcasts, are lesser biased and more objective (unless, of course, it is controlled by the government for “propaganda” purposes) than private TV since it has to rely heavily on private funding.
Q. 5. What effects can watching television have on children?
Answer: Television watching can affect children both negatively and positively. Talking about positive effects, it entertains them and educates them by giving them a chance to learn about the world they live in. Television watching can also expose the children to new cultures and new ideas so that they learn to respect and love others, no matter how different they really are. It is also beneficial for them to learn a second language. However, television watching can also prevent children from enjoying healthy activities like playing sports with their friends. As a result, they may end up becoming “unsocial”. Besides, it also affects children’s studies, grades, behaviour patterns, sleep and weights in a negative manner.
Q. 6. How TV programmes differ now than that of 10 years ago?
Answer: In my opinion, we certainly have more TV programs today than that of 10 years ago, but the overall quality of the programs has gone down. TV programs today focus more on “glamour” and commercialization than the actual messages or substances than what it used to be 10 years ago. Finally, they also contain more “nudity”, “violence” and “vulgarity” than what we saw before 10 years ago.
IELTS Speaking Part 3 topic: Retirement and old age.
1. At what age should people retire from work? Why do you think so?
2. What problems can people face after their retirement?
3. How important are retirees to your country’s economy? Why/ Why not?
4. When should you start saving for retirement?
5. Why do some companies encourage early retirement?
6. Do you think the state should take responsibility for retirees who worked in private companies rather than government organisation?
Q. 1. At what age should people retire from work? Why do you think so?
Answer: If it were me, I would choose to “retire” at an early age, with the required financial security of course, primarily because it would allow me to do and enjoy the things when I would still remain “healthy and active” both mentally and physically. Besides, the issue of the “retirement age” becomes a bit irrelevant as long as someone is enjoying his or her works/activities unless, of course, a company or organization has the policy of enforcing a strict “deadline” for retirement. Anyway, ideally, if a person enters his career at the age of 25 and spends his time wisely and efficiently, then he should be good to “retire” at 50, which would allow him a good 10 year to enjoy his life before starting to consider him as a “senior” citizen at an age of 60.
Q. 2. What problems can people face after their retirement?
Answer: It all depends on how people choose to face “retirement”. However, people usually face two major problems after their retirement: one is related to “finance”, and the other one is “health”, both physical and mental. We all know that once people retire, they usually struggle to meet their financial needs since the source of a “steady” income dries up. Besides, they also suffer from health-related issues because they become physically “old” and “inactive”. Now, of course, we can debate whether one feels “old” because of becoming “physically inactive” or become “physically inactive” because of getting “old’, but one thing is for sure that their “mental health” deteriorate rapidly because they feel that they are not “useful” for their families and society anymore.
Q. 3. How important are retirees to your country’s economy? Why/ Why not?
Answer: The retirees are considered to be an important component of my country’s economy primarily because they help keep our economy running by saving their money little by little which then, in turn, get used by our government for different kind of development works. Besides, many retirees in my country just don’t sit “idle”, and, instead, choose to use their wealth of past work experiences to generate some incomes for themselves and their families which certainly contribute to the growth of our economy. However, some will argue that the retirees are some kind of “drag down” for our economy because they collect money from the government, but they forget that it’s their money, and the government is just supposed to “manage” them.
Q. 4. When should you start saving for retirement?
Answer: Well, the act of saving for retirement should start as soon as people start to earn, ideally speaking of course. But, unfortunately, we are not exactly living in an ideal world where our all financial needs are met just the way, we like. Therefore, saving, sometimes, can be the last thing in our minds which we really worry about. Besides, when we are young, we tend to be “carefree”, and we also want to enjoy our lives to the “fullest” by spending whatever money we have. As a result, we can’t, more often than not, really save any money despite our best efforts and intention when we are young and “restless”. Nevertheless, saving should always be a priority for us, and as such, we should get on it as soon as it is convenient for us.
Q. 5. Why do some companies encourage early retirement?
Answer: Some companies “encourage” early retirement for a number of reasons. For example, they may want to make rooms for younger candidates with fresh and more dynamic ideas. Some companies also would encourage early retirement because they want to cut cost by getting rid of highly paid employees. Finally, some companies promote early retirement also because they have hit their “financial goals” and that they are not expecting any more growth for their companies. However, these kinds of early retirement are not necessarily so bad because they usually involve good “financial incentives”.
Q. 6. Do you think the state should take responsibility for retirees who worked in private companies rather than government organisation?
Answer: Yes, the state should have a responsibility in taking care of retirees of the private companies in some capacity primarily because they also contribute to the economy of a country. However, it doesn’t necessarily mean that the private retirees are also “paid” by the government just like the government retirees, but rather the government should extend its helping hands to private company retirees also in order to ensure a “minimally secured financial future” for them should the private companies fail to do so. After all, it is also the responsibility of the government to encourage, if not “force”, the private companies to take care of their ‘retirees’ in whichever capacity they can afford.
IELTS Speaking Part 3 topic: Photography.
1. Is it easy to take good photographs? Why/ Why not?
2. What are the pros and cons of digital photography?
3. Should people share their photographs online? Why/ Why not?
4. When can an image be worth a thousand words?
5. Is a photograph a reliable form of identification? Why/ Why not?
6. Is it necessary to take a course to become a good photographer? Why/ Why not?
Q. 1. Is it easy to take good photographs? Why/ Why not?
Answer: Well, from my own experience, I can say that it is never really easy to take good photographs mainly because there are just so many things which come into play when trying to take excellent photographs. In fact, one has to have perfect ideas about things like proper exposure, building rapport with the subjects in order to find the perfect angle, lens focal length selection, the right aperture white balance and composition, among other things, to take good photographs. However, as if it is not already difficult enough, one also has to understand, what really works in what situation, in order to take an excellent photo.
Q. 2. What are the pros and cons of digital photography?
Answer: Digital photography has become the norm today than the exception when capturing any images, primarily because they offer better quality pictures. Besides, cost and times are also significantly reduced when taking digital photographs as there is no film costs, no processing and proof costs, and no unnecessary printing costs if not needed. So, the end result is an ‘instant’ opportunity to view pictures right after taking them. Finally, another great advantage of digital photography is that one can have complete and instant control over the pictures, especially, if he/she wants to edit them on a computer with some imaging software. However, digital photography is not as good as film camera in capturing motion. Besides, capturing photos with a digital camera is generally easier, but doing anything with the photographs afterwards almost always requires some computer or technological skills.
Q. 3. Should people share their photographs online? Why/ Why not?
Answer: No, I am not really very comfortable in sharing photographs online unless it is absolutely necessary for official works mainly because they can be stolen and used by complete strangers for nefarious purposes. Besides, pictures, taken by smartphones or other devices with GPS technology in it, may contain tags which can reveal the exact location where the pictures were taken. In other words, if a picture, shared online, with such tags, it is possible that others will know about his or her location which is a violation of privacy. Having said that, a photo taken on a holiday could be shared online with selected people but people should never share personal photos publicly which is accessible by anyone from anywhere.
Q. 4. When can an image be worth a thousand words?
Answer: As humans, we are largely responsive to visual cues as they have the ability to make us feel happy, sad, disgusted, excited and curious. So when we see a picture, which arouses these human emotions, in order to convey some complex or unique messages and ideas, we say that an image is worth a thousand words. Besides, there are some “truths” or “realities” which are just impossible to describe no matter how many words we use, and hence the phrase “a picture is worth a thousand words”.
Q. 5. Is a photograph a reliable form of identification? Why/ Why not?
Answer: No, a photograph by itself is not a reliable form of identification unless it is attached with some forms of government-issued documents. Even then, it may not be reliable enough to properly identify a person simply because the facial features of a person, showing on the photograph, might just look different from the features on the real person, as those facial features can change over time because of the age or because of living under different conditions.
Q. 6. Is it necessary to take a course to become a good photographer? Why/ Why not?
Answer: In my opinion, it is not exactly necessary to take a course to become a good photographer, but it would certainly help if one chooses to take one in order to learn just the basics like camera bodies, lenses, lighting and processing. However, if one really wants to be a good photographer, he just needs to go out and take as many pictures as he likes. Then he also needs to look closely at his own works and compare them with the styles of works, which he likes, in order to adapt to his own methods accordingly.
IELTS Speaking Part 3 topic: Gift.
1. What is the purpose of gift giving?
2. How has gift giving changed since your grandparents’ time? How?
3. How important is gift giving in a relationship?
4. What is more important when it comes to giving a gift, cost or effort? Why?
5. Do you think that people have become more materialistic when it comes to giving gifts, as compared to your grandparents’ time?
6. How has modern technology changed the nature of gift giving? How?
Q. 1. What is the purpose of gift giving?
Answer: People love giving gifts primarily because it is just “customary” to give gifts in order to celebrate on some occasions with her friends and families. However, on a deeper level, we give gifts because it helps to create a stronger bond between the gift recipients and the persons, offering the gifts, by showing their love and appreciation for each other’s valuable role and presence in their lives. Besides, a person exchanges gifts with somebody also because it provides a tremendous psychological boost to the recipient which, in turn, helps strengthen his/her resilience to cope with the adverse moments of life.
Q. 2. How has gift giving changed since your grandparents’ time? How?
Answer: Yes, I would say that gift giving has changed since my grandparents’ time. Back in those days, people used to give gifts mostly on some special occasions, such as birthdays and wedding anniversaries, but today, one doesn’t really have to have an occasion for it. Besides, unlike in the past, people today expect “personalised” gifts with some kinds of thoughts behind them. Finally, today we can choose a lot more things as gift items which we didn’t have in the days of our grandparents.
Q. 3. How important is gift giving in a relationship?
Answer: I think that it is absolutely important to exchange gifts in a relationship between partners because it would help cement and carry forward a healthy and loving relationship. Besides, exchanging gifts is not just a simple gesture of appreciation, but giving the right gifts at the right time also shows how much a person really cares for his/her partner or understands his or her partner. Finally, when a relationship goes through some troubling times, a well-thought gift can go a long way to repair the “damage” by bringing the partners closer to each other.
Q. 4. What is more important when it comes to giving a gift, cost or effort? Why?
Answer: In my opinion, the effort is more important than the cost when it comes to giving a gift. For example, if a person chooses an expensive gift for his or her partner, but the partner doesn’t like it because it just doesn’t go with him/her styles or colour preferences, then the costly gift actually becomes “useless”. On the other hands, if a person gives a lot of thoughts and times in choosing a gift in order to make sure that he/she really understands what his/her partner likes or prefers, then the gift, no matter how “cheap” it is, would surely go a long way to impress the partner.
Q. 5. Do you think that people have become more materialistic when it comes to giving gifts, as compared to your grandparents’ time?
Answer: Yes, I would certainly like to think that people have become more materialistic, when it comes to giving gifts, primarily because we are living in a very “materialistic” society. Besides, our culture has grown more commercial, where “gift giving” – expensive gifts that is, has turned into a booming industry. Finally, media these days also play a crucial role in fostering an “unrealistic” expectation among people to buy “perfect gifts” without necessarily understanding the idea of a “perfect gift”.
Q. 6. How has modern technology changed the nature of gift giving? How?
Answer: Modern technology, like the internet, e-commerce and online shopping, has revolutionized the nature of gift giving by making it fast, affordable and convenient. In fact, we can choose the perfect gifts for our loved ones for any occasion, even if they live in another corner of the world, from the comfort of our homes on the internet and have them delivered to their doorsteps in hours, if not any quicker! The best thing about this modern technology is that we can actually get the opinions on the “gift ideas”, before actually buying them, from our friends and families almost instantly because we can send the ‘pictures’ to them through emails or messenger services. We can even send someone a gift card so that the recipient can choose his/her own gift from a collection of items.
IELTS Speaking Part 3 topic: The internet and its impact on our social life.
1. What types of websites are popular among your generation?
2. Is using the internet a social or solitary activity? Why?
3. How has the internet changed social behaviour?
4. Should companies check job applicants’ online profiles? Why/ Why not?
5. What will be the next big development online?
6. How has the internet changed the way we communicate with others?
Q. 1. What types of websites are popular among your generation?
Answer: Being a person of the young generation, who have either finished their studies or have just started their careers, I would say that websites on news, job postings, social networking, entertainment industry, sports and e-commerce are probably the most popular among our generation. However, job sites probably would top them all because there is a huge number of unemployed youth in my country, and they just like to surf through those websites in order to improve their opportunities to land on a new job or better job. E-commerce websites don’t fall very far behind the job sites because they also attract a lot of young visitors for obvious reasons. Finally, social networking websites like Facebook and Twitter are hugely popular among those youths.
Q. 2. Is using the internet a social or solitary activity? Why?
Answer: In my humble opinion, I would say that it is a solitary activity for many because people don’t really need or are “required” to interact with other people in their society in order to use the internet. Besides, when somebody is using the internet, he or she is usually busy finding some information or looking at something on their screens. Therefore, even if there are other people around him/her, he or she doesn’t exactly pay much attention to them in order to make it a “social” thing. However, if we consider the purpose or function of social networking websites, they are often meant to help us connect more people and become more social by bringing friends and relatives together and letting people find like-minded people over the internet so that they can meet and work for a common cause.
Q. 3. How has the internet changed social behaviour?
Answer: The use of the internet has significantly changed our social behaviours and attitude. Today, we spend more time on surfing on the internet, talking with some people with probably some “false” names on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter, while completely forgetting to have even a casual conversation with friends and families around us. As a result, we are “isolating” ourselves more and more from the “realities” around us. Besides, since some people are glued to the internet for long hours, they don’t really feel like going out to enjoy the normal thing in life which is actually causing “depression” in many of the internet users.
However, there is a completely different side of the use of the internet which connects friends and relatives and give people a common platform to raise their voice or share information for good. A year ago, our local administrator decided to build a factory near our neighbourhood and many people learned about it via the internet. They shared their thoughts and finally met to protest it personally. I see this event as a great example of how the internet can strengthen our social relationship and bring good things to society.
Q. 4. Should companies check job applicants’ online profiles? Why/ Why not?
Answer: Yes, I think that companies should check job applicants’ online profiles in order to get a better understanding of the prospective applicants’ lifestyles and behaviour pattern. But, it is also important for companies not to make any decisions, based solely on what they see or find on their online profiles, simply because they may be just some of the “glimpse” of moments on some special occasions. Besides, just because somebody does something on the internet (unless it is absolutely stupid and offensive), it doesn’t necessarily mean that he or she will do the same thing at works.
Q. 5. What will be the next big development online?
Answer: I am not an internet or technology expert, but I think that the next big development online will be the ability to connect computers, smartphones, TV, fridges, and other electronic devices and gadgets through the cloud networks. Besides, I also think that all televisions, computers and smartphones in the future will have an internet connection in them. In other words, as soon as we power on these devices, the internet connection will be running automatically in them without the need of doing anything extra to connect with internet. So who will pay for the internet? Well, the companies, manufacturing these devices, will. Besides, AI (Artificial Intelligence) will do most of the things for us like ordering items online for us or sending an email we need to send.
Q. 6. How has the internet changed the way we communicate with others?
Answer: The internet has very significantly changed the way we communicate with others. In fact, it has made communication easier and faster, especially, when sending or receiving a huge amount of data and information. Besides, the internet has made communication very affordable too as we can write messages or letter as large as we can and then send them to our friends and families by using emails without spending virtually anything. Finally, it has made communication very “personalized” also. In fact, we can view anybody live on camera, while also talking to them at the same time, no matter if we live a world apart from each other.
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