118: Disconnecting from Technology

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Questions about the Video File:

  1. How do you know you need to take a step back from technology?
  2. What percentage of teenagers own smart phones?
  3. What’s the first step to win off your independency over technology?
  4. What things can you do in person rather than using your devices? What’s the good in it?
  5. What happens when you fall asleep with your phone?

 

General Questions:

  1. Do you own a smart phone? How long have you had it? Can you name three things which are different in your life now that you have a smart phone?
  2. What’s the longest time you can survive without your cell phone or internet?
  3. When was the last time you turned off your cell phone? (it doesn’t count if your phone died because it was out of charge) why did you do that? How did it feel?
  4. How many hours a day do you spend on the internet? How many hours are really necessary?
  5. How many hours do you speak on the phone on average? Who do you speak with?
  6. How many text messages do you send a day? How many are absolutely necessary?
  7. How many times do you check your social networks a day?
  8. When was the last time you met your best friend in person? When was the last time you called or texted him/her? How do you feel about it?
  9. What would you do if you left your cell phone at home?
  10. When did you last read a book? When did you last met your friends out?

 

Related Quotes:

“I fear the day that technology will surpass our human interactions. The world will have a generation of idiots”. Albert Einstein

“The difference between technology and slavery is that slaves are fully aware that they are not free” Nassim Nicholas Taleb

Technology is just a tool. In terms of getting the kids working together and motivating them, the teacher is the most important. Bill Gates

Cell phones, mobile e-mail, and all the other cool and slick gadgets can cause massive losses in our creative output and overall productivity. Robin S. Sharma

Related Idioms and Expressions:

 

  1. A heck of : a lot of; very
  • They use a heck of oil in their food which can lead to heart diseases.
  1. At your fingertip: have easy access to something.
  • All the data was at her fingertip. She had it all saved on her computer.
  1. Creature of habit: a person who acted mostly based on habits rather than awareness
  • She’s a creature of habit, you can tell the time just by checking on her activities.
  1. Kick the habit: to give up a bad habit
  • She kicked the habit of smoking months ago. She doesn’t smoke anymore.

     5- To know something in your bones: to feel or understand something deeply

  • He knew in his bones that she would never come back.

 

Related Words and Phrases:

 

Engrossed (adj): to focus all your attention on one thing

  • I was so engrossed in watch TV that I forgot to call him and cancel the date.

Stay/be in touch (v) to continue communication with someone via mail, phone, etc

  • They promised to stay in touch even after they graduation. They planned to meet up at least every two months.

Interact (v) to socialize or communicate

  • You need to interact with your colleagues more in order to fit in.

Step back (phv) to quit something for a while in order to reconsider it.

  • You need to step back from your relation and think what you really want.

Immersion (n) getting involved in something deeply

  • Her immersion in English literature was surprising. She has never been interested in languages.

Craze (n) an activity, idea or trend which becomes popular suddenly and usually for a short time

  • The craze for Harry Potter books was totally lucrative for some people.

Kaleidoscope (n) a toy in shape of a tube with mirrors and colorful glasses that reflects various interesting patterns

  • As a child I had a kaleidoscope that could amuse me for hours.

Mesmerized (adj) attracted to something greatly

  • I was totally mesmerized by her dancing ballet so graciously.

Odds (n) the probability

  • When you work hard the odds are that you’ll get a promotion.

Designate (v) to allocate; to say officially that a place, thing or time has a particular purpose

  • A designated the biggest room in my house to my books and handcrafts.

Engaging (adj) interesting, nice and attractive

  • I guess reading a book can be quite engaging for introverts.

 

Please leave a response to the following question as a comment: 

How would you feel if you couldn’t use your phone for a week? How would your life be different? Think of both positive and negative changes.

Level: 
B1 (Intermediate)
B2 (Upper-intermediate)

There are 8 Comments

Submitted by Alirezq on Sun, 2016/10/09 - 09:46

There is no denying that we live in the age of technology. It becomes one of the essential part of our daily life and it is improving constantly every second. On the other hand this impressive phenomenon has obvious effects on our social and personal life. As a consequence of technological advancement and Along with this revolution, we faced up with several changes in our daily life even in the way that we think and operate. Notwithstanding people are mesmerized by technology and it becomes the main reason of social divide and the generation of laziness, it improves your efficiency for your business and makes your communication better and faster.
When it comes to me, life without technology at my fingertip seems to be impossible. Apparently without my smartphone there is a good opportunity to have more interaction with people and meet my acquaintances more frequently  but it is an inseparable part of my life and we should learn how to cope with it properly not throw it away totally. Definitely I would have more time for in person social activities but without my smartphone I feel disconnected from the world around. “Technology gives us  power, but it does not and cannot tell us how to use power. Thanks to technology, we can instantly communicate across the world, but it still doesn’t help us know what to say.” At last I think this in not the problem of technology, this is our responsibility to control this amazing tool and make a congruous balance between updated technology and our social communications.

Submitted by jafar.kianpour on Sun, 2016/10/09 - 19:12

Good job Alireza:
 

  • Along: along
  • we faced up with: we are faced up with
  • Notwithstanding?!
  • at my fingertip: at my fingertips
  • in person social activities?!
  •  I think this in not:  I think this is not
  •  this is our responsibility:  but our responsibility

Submitted by Alirezq on Sun, 2016/10/09 - 20:50
  • notwithstanding = nevertheless ; in spite of
  • face to face social activities

Submitted by Nasimvkl on Sun, 2016/10/09 - 10:14

Generally eliminating technology specially smartphones may have negative effects on our relationship with our friends,family and colleagues .When it comes to me checking the Instagram account and email has become a habit for me and it is hard to quit the old habits. But sometimes we need to kick the habits so the new things can come to our lives and change it in the best way. For example, the most important and helpful things that will happen after stepping back from technology are stress relief and gaining peace for ourself and after that we can interact with the people that we love in person instead of being in touch with them through our phones. Therefore,we should establish a balance between using technology and our social life so we can enjoy both of them in the right way.

Submitted by NedaSehat on Sun, 2016/10/16 - 10:31

Technology is an amazing tool which can be both useful and dangerous, it really depends on the consumer. Nowadays many people argue about bad things that the technology cause but they never mention how it changes and improves our lives. Indeed, we spend less time for interacting with the human being but on the other hand, our circle of acquaintances extended, we have more friends, we can share our thoughts and discuss them with more people, we can see and experience different cultures and we can be aware of the news. It's unbelievable how fast we can reach anything we need. But we should be careful not to lose our real life as well, we should balance these two lives and get the benefit of each one.

with knowing technology, it's really hard to deny it and live without it, denying the real world isn't acceptable neither. We should be aware of these changes and try to use and shape them in a right way.

Submitted by jafar.kianpour on Tue, 2016/10/18 - 19:10

Very good Neda!

  • bad things that the technology cause: bad things that the technology causes
  • our circle of acquaintances extended: our circle of acquaintances is extended
  • isn't acceptable neither: isn't acceptable either

Submitted by Lachin on Mon, 2016/10/17 - 20:23

Nowadays, technology has a great effect on our lives, especially if you live in a modern city, technology is somehow connected to your life and mostly everything is easier, because human's knowledge is being improved by various kinds of inventions everyday.

lt would be somehow difficult for me to disconnect from internet and my smart phone,because my schedule is related to them, also without internet everything will be  done in lower speed like doing a research which is faster with internet or like communicating with others when you are far away from them, using technology can be helpful.

Even though I may face some problems without internet, when I get used to the situation, I'll find out various ways for spending my time and that it's not just limited to technology, like visiting best friends instead of texting them which makes me feel fresh .Also I guess I'll find more time than past to interact with my family and that makes me feel calm.

 

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