ISSUE16 【clover】 by a08805436

a08805436UID: 2725634

TOPIC: ISSUE16 - "Although many people think that the luxuries and conveniences of contemporary life are entirely harmless, in fact, they actually prevent people from developing into truly strong and independent individuals."


Are luxuries and conveniences of modern life sap our strength and independence, as the speaker contends? In some sense, I agree with the speaker that luxuries and conveniences weaken us in both physical and mental fields.

Admittedly, with the inflation and expansion of modernization, the modern luxuries and conveniences change our world into a different realm of existence. Cars and planes shorten the distance between us; telecommunication makes it possible for people on the different continent to talk as if they sat in the same room; the development of internet offers us new way to search information and study. In short, those luxuries and conveniences change our life in all walks of it and it is of vital importance in the development of human species. Furthermore, we work more effectively and efficiently with the help of such conveniences as the automobile and computer. When it takes less time on the road to work, we could make full use of our time and become more productive. When we could communicate with people on the phone or through the internet, we do not have to waste our time on tedious waiting and dreary etiquette. From the analysis made above, we may safely conclude that it is precisely modern luxuries and conveniences that have changed our life and facilitate us to be more productive.

However, this kind of luxuries and conveniences diminish the human characteristic in both physical and spiritual aspects. In the physical level, cars, planes and other means of transportation change the way we used to live and thus cause a lot of problems.
A survey conducted by University of Hong Kong shows that in the recent 20 years the average level of physical strength of Chinese people diminished about 20 percent due to the spectacular development of mechanization and automation of Chinese automobile industry. Millions of people suffering from related health problems and thousands of people die because of lacking exercise. Could any spectacle, for instance, be more grimly ironic than that of rich people going to the gymnasium while, close at hand, thousands of people suffered the pains of overwork. Serious retrospection and introspection should be carried out as what will happen if this two-edged development, with its escalating capability, continues.

In the spiritual level, although the development of telecommunication and internet shortens the physical distance between people, the distance between their hearts do not diminish at the same time. More and more people developed psychological diseases due to the fact that internet offers them the chance to working at home, shopping at home and finally, die at home. Moreover, it is important for us to realize the limitations of modern facilities. When automobile makes it easy for us to trudge from one place to another, it is reasonable for people to utilize it and enjoy the benefit of modernization. It is also justifiable to predict that one day automation would slowly replace other human activities such as eating, sleeping and even sex, for choosing the easier way is human nature. And while most people acknowledge this tendency in one level or another, majority remains naive as to the broad ramifications of having such a dangerous tendency as the guiding mentality in society.

In final analysis, although the development of science and technology give us a myriad of conveniences, modern luxuries and conveniences prevent people from developing into truly independent individuals both mentally and physically. The awareness of preventing overusing the conveniences would align us and lead us to the continuous growth and progress.