Oral d'anglais de Terminal - Idea of progress

First of all, I’m gonna explain the notion of idea of progress. It can be defined as an improvement, a development or a change ; a technical, scientific or social advance which contributes to making the world a better place.

In relation to this theme, I think that it’d be very interesting to ask ourselves how modern technology affects today’s social relations?

To respond to this problem, I’m going to start talking about how new technologies help improve human relations around the world. Then, I’m going to point out the fact that it can also isolate people and disconnect them from real life. Finally, new technologies raise the question of the invasion of privacy.

First of all new technologies transcend borders and make it possible to be instantly connected to the rest of the world, particularly through social networks. We are constantly exposed to cultures different from our own and this allows us to be more open and more aware of the world around us. It also makes language learning accessible to more people especially as it is very easy to find foreign people to communicate with in their own language. With this knowledge comes employee confidence in communicating across language divides, connecting with colleagues, customers and suppliers. However new technologies also help raise awareness of current issues, such as global warming. We have the example of a new generation of young people in the United States called « First Globals ». They’re the most connected online and are considered as the most international age group in America and also the one most concerned about the environment and human rights.

But new technologies can have a very negative effect on people and social relationships. First of all, the sociologist Sherry Turtle highlights in her books the consequences for children. Indeed, because of new technologies they lose their ability to be bored, as well as the ability to be alone. Being subject to constant stimulation hinders their imagination. Social networks also change our relationship to real conversations because they give us a control that you can't have in a face-to-face discussion. The result is a form of anxiety when a conversation gets out of hand and a desire to return to a means of communication where we are more in control of what we say. But new technologies also expose us greatly to violent images and hate speech, which weakens our empathy and our consideration of danger and violence.

Finally, new technologies also raise the question of the invasion of privacy, especially because of the storage of all our datas such as our private messages. For example every time we turn on our phone Google stores our location. But in addition to the collection of datas, the main problem is the possible collusion between large Internet firms such as Facebook and intelligence services, such as the NSA, which is known to use this data to monitor people. The Black Mirror series warns of the possible excesses of these new technologies. Indeed, there is an episode set in a world where people can rate each other from one to five stars for every interaction they have, which can impact their socioeconomic status. The most terrifying thing, is that this situation already exists. In China there is The Sesame Credit system, which assigns users scores and allowed some people with high scores to rent vehicles without a deposit,

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