Leisure becomes a growing industry. People no longer used to entertain themselves as before because modern technology made them not any more. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

Leisure industry is now growing faster than ever. But with modern technology finding its way into every household, people have changed the way they entertain themselves.

To begin with, teenagers are spending increasingly longer hours playing computer games. Computer game first made its appearance in China more than fifteen years ago. Back then, it was expensive because children had to play in arcades lined with huge coin-operated machines. But now millions of families own computers or game stations. Game titles are widely available for people of different age. Moreover, computer games are more fun and affordable. So while children in the past read books or played dirt war and ball games, children now choose to sit in front of computers playing games. In fact, they have become so obsessed with computer games that this has now become a social problem of a global scale.

Moreover, adults watch TV in increasingly higher number and for unprecedented longer hours than they did before. Years ago, people did not have a lot of channels to watch. But now, we could zap through more than 50 channels for good programs. Moreover, people are under greater pressure than before. Even if many love to go outdoor to enjoy beautiful views and fresh air, they often finally stay home to save energy for work.

Finally, technology itself aims to change people’s entertainment. Now very few of us have ever watched an opera or concert in a theater because it is more time consuming and, more importantly, expensive. But with the invention of movie, people started to switch to movie houses. TV then replaces movie as the number one entertainment, which has been caught up by computer-based pastime activities like Internet surfing.

We now have more options for leisure activities than before, but we still maintain many old ways such as reading a good book or playing sports.

To sum up, technology has greatly changed how people spend leisure time. While they spend more and more time in front of computer or TV, they still entertain in the traditional ways such as reading, traveling and sports.