People today can perform the everyday tasks such as shopping, banking or even business transactions, without meeting others face to face. What are the effects it may have on individuals and society as a whole? Is it a positive or negative development?

Modern technology has freed individuals from much human labour and the internet boom in the earlier 21st century

further

contributed to

this

by making dealing with almost all daily tasks online possible.

This

trend, in my view, should be contained. Of course, one can never deny the convenience of handling errands or tasks online. Consumers could place an order at home via their phones and wait for express delivery to the door; patients are able to make appointments with personal doctors through the relevant system; job-seekers can send their profiles to employers by email.

This

lifestyle can be time-saving and labour-saving,

however

, simultaneously, would create many side effects if over-reliance arises. Nowadays, the ‘phubbing or ‘phone snubbing’ phenomenon is frequently seen in public places. Those phone users could not help checking the latest tweets, new messages or emails during their commute or

while

waiting for a lift. They even feel embarrassed if everyone around them is typing words but no one is waiting for them

at the end

of their chat. Gradually, they become lonely, get irritated easily, and are afraid of talking to people in life. Why not say hello and start a weather talk with the passenger beside you? What is worse, the overuse of computers or phones unavoidably gives rise to many health concerns. Research indicates that the obesity level of city dwellers, especially adolescents, has increased at an exaggerated speed.

This

is possibly

due to

the sedentary lifestyle where both adult workers and children often spend their spare time in front of a screen rather than in the gym or outdoors. Their health condition could suffer if the amount of time doing so is not controlled reasonably and the government would have to spend more on dealing with related health problems. In a word, modern people could take full advantage of advanced internet technology, but more importantly, they should treasure real life and pursue a healthy way of living.