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23 Oct 2021, 10:34
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I wrote this as my first attempt for the Issue task prompt for the TOEFL. I was wondering if it is too abstract and maybe too off topic. I think I may not have added enough concrete examples. Here's the prompt and my response.
Prompt - People today spend too much time on personal enjoyment - doing things they like to do - rather than things they should do. Do you agree or disagree with the statement? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
Response -
Some people say that people these days are spending a lot more time doing things they like to do rather than doing things that they should do, and looking at the sheer number of hours spent by humans on social media sites, mindlessly scrolling through tons of audio-visual content, it does seem like their school of thought has merit. However, I am of the opinion that people these days are not taking enough time out for doing the things that they really like doing - things that bring them personal joy. I will support my viewpoint with two reasons.
First of all, many of the things that bring us joy cannot necessarily provide us with some monetary compensation for it and they are just hobbies that are relaxing for us. For instance, I love micro-gardening in my small balcony. I do it because it is therapeutic for me and I do not look to use this hobby of mine as an additional source of income. It is just something I do because it is enjoyable. But, I believe that to be truly able to do the things one wants to do, he/she needs to be financially stable and economically secure. One cannot be happy with just a happy source of relaxation if there is no money for the basic necessities for life. The activity may not even be as relaxing or soul satisfying as it once was. And as we can see by the various world poverty surveys, there is a big chunk of the world's population which is still struggling to make ends meet and all of them are thus forced to do things that they should do rather than things that they may enjoy.
Secondly, I also strongly believe that personal enjoyment also include activities which are self-centered, activities which are just for yourself. This could include any self-care activity like taking time out for a good long bath, or taking time off to understand what one may want from the future etc. If enough people did have the time to indulge in all of these self-reflective and growth inducing activities we would have far less number of people struggling with mental health issues or people having a hard time in general. But as probably indicated by the various trends after the Covid-19 pandemic, we can see that a lot of people are unsatisfied and are looking for change and hence all of these and more people should probably be spending more time on finding their true happiness and something that they are truly passionate about.
In conclusion, the statement presented to us - People today are spending more time on personal enjoyment over things that they should be doing is a rather complex one. Of course, people on the other side of the spectrum would present examples of how hobbies have also been capitilized on, with the advent of various social media sites, but I believe that this represents a small group of people and is not representative of the huge population of the world. Hence, I still contend that people are not spending too much time on personal enjoyment.
Prompt - People today spend too much time on personal enjoyment - doing things they like to do - rather than things they should do. Do you agree or disagree with the statement? Use specific reasons and examples to support your answer.
Response -
Some people say that people these days are spending a lot more time doing things they like to do rather than doing things that they should do, and looking at the sheer number of hours spent by humans on social media sites, mindlessly scrolling through tons of audio-visual content, it does seem like their school of thought has merit. However, I am of the opinion that people these days are not taking enough time out for doing the things that they really like doing - things that bring them personal joy. I will support my viewpoint with two reasons.
First of all, many of the things that bring us joy cannot necessarily provide us with some monetary compensation for it and they are just hobbies that are relaxing for us. For instance, I love micro-gardening in my small balcony. I do it because it is therapeutic for me and I do not look to use this hobby of mine as an additional source of income. It is just something I do because it is enjoyable. But, I believe that to be truly able to do the things one wants to do, he/she needs to be financially stable and economically secure. One cannot be happy with just a happy source of relaxation if there is no money for the basic necessities for life. The activity may not even be as relaxing or soul satisfying as it once was. And as we can see by the various world poverty surveys, there is a big chunk of the world's population which is still struggling to make ends meet and all of them are thus forced to do things that they should do rather than things that they may enjoy.
Secondly, I also strongly believe that personal enjoyment also include activities which are self-centered, activities which are just for yourself. This could include any self-care activity like taking time out for a good long bath, or taking time off to understand what one may want from the future etc. If enough people did have the time to indulge in all of these self-reflective and growth inducing activities we would have far less number of people struggling with mental health issues or people having a hard time in general. But as probably indicated by the various trends after the Covid-19 pandemic, we can see that a lot of people are unsatisfied and are looking for change and hence all of these and more people should probably be spending more time on finding their true happiness and something that they are truly passionate about.
In conclusion, the statement presented to us - People today are spending more time on personal enjoyment over things that they should be doing is a rather complex one. Of course, people on the other side of the spectrum would present examples of how hobbies have also been capitilized on, with the advent of various social media sites, but I believe that this represents a small group of people and is not representative of the huge population of the world. Hence, I still contend that people are not spending too much time on personal enjoyment.
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