Toefl Essay #2 : changes in 21st century

The 21^st century has begun. What changes do you think this new century will bring?

 

        Today is June 3, 2013. It has been more than 13 years since the 21^st century has begun. During the recent hundred years, we humans have gone through numerous changes. People around the world now became able to have comfortable lives with machines which help their work, communicate in a much easier way, and have longer and better life by improvement of medical technology. Just by looking at some of these factors, the 21^st century will definitely bring some big changes to people’s lives.

           First of all, daily technology has improved. Even in our parents’ generation, people didn’t expect that all people would carry smart-phones around and carry light laptops. However, now we can do countless things by just clicking or touching the screen. Also, robots are invented every day to improve the quality of human life by replacing human labor by these robots. These days, engineers are working on inventing robots which exactly resembles human beings. In the near future, these robots might replace the human beings and do all unnecessary works. However, if this really happens, it also brings up some problems about the rights of the robots. If the robots act and even have emotions just like real humans, it is questionable whether we should treat them equally as humans or not. Still, 21^st century will definitely be an easier century for the people to live due to daily technological improvement.

           Moreover, the scale of communication will be different. There is something called www, world wide web. Through the world wide web, people can access to the information that they want to find. If the technology improves even more, more information will be provided and people will be able to get better information more easily. Also, the SNS, social networking system allows people to communicate. Through SNS, some people can find old friends. Also, it let people to communicate easier by reducing time and effort at the same time. In 21^st century, life will be much more convenient through the internet and SNS in our hands. If the technology allows us, people might communicate just through the brain network, and send messages in a speed that o one has ever thought of. 21^st century will also be an stage of massive people communicating with each other.

           Lastly, people will be able to retain healthier and richer life due to the medical technology. Polio once took numerous people’s lives away, and it was once a disease which could hardly be cured. However, WHO declared the end of polio, and this is due to the medical technology which have developed rapidly. With this speed, it is very likely that terminal diseases such as cancer and aids will be cured in the near future. Also, scientists are inventing new remedies by studying human body. The expected lifelong span of our generation is about 120 years, and it is keep going to increase in the future. There are even some companies who freeze the person immediately after the death, and if the technology develops more in the future, these frozen bodies might revive again and live eternally. In 21^st century, people will be able to enjoy longer and healthier life.

           21^st century can be also seen as an era of technological development. If the scientists keep working on forming the DNA structures and cloning, the movie <Island> may come to reality. The earth may be crowded with people who live for hundreds of years, and the third gender might even appear suddenly into our society. However, we should always be aware of using the science technology in an inappropriate way. In a few years, in a near 21^st century,  something great will definitely happen and change our lives.