IELTS essay sample | Were older technologies more beneficial than newer technologies?

IELTS essay topic

Early technological developments helped ordinary people and changed their lives more than recent developments. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Sample response

Technology has developed throughout the history of man, but the innovations differ in their impact. In my opinion technology has both positive and negative impacts but older technologies are more beneficial than newer technologies.

Older technologies benefited people in several ways. Take for instance, the invention of the wheel. It changed the course of our life for good. The inventions of the electric motor, light bulb, steam engine and railways have had similar impacts on our life. It is now impossible to imagine a life without motor vehicles or electric bulbs.

By contract, relatively newer innovations like television, telephone, computer, refrigerator and smart phone have both positive and negative impacts. Many of them are not essential in our life. Television may have brought entertainment to the living room, but it also gave birth to a generation of couch potatoes. As for its impact on our life, well, it is absolutely possible to live without it. Computers also have both positive and negative effects. Computers improved our efficiency. In fact, in recent times, there has been no other innovation that has had such a profound impact on our lives. Unfortunately, computers and video games also made people lazier. When we sit in front of a computer for long hours it affects our health in many ways. These negative impacts, however, cannot be used to discount the positive impacts of the computer. It is, by far, the most useful innovation of our lifetime. Smart phone is another innovation that has both positive and negative effects. Most of us cannot even imagine a life without our mobile phones, but the overall positive impact of smart phones on our lives is rather negligible. The thing is no one needs to be connected to the entire world all the time. In fact, the constant connectivity has made our lives more stressful.

To conclude, technology is neither good nor bad. It depends upon the way we use it. Still, I feel that older technologies were more beneficial. As for newer innovations, well, we can actually do without many of them.

Manjusha Nambiar

Hi, I'm Manjusha. This is my blog where I give IELTS preparation tips.

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