Some people believe that advancements in technology in the 21st century have allowed people to have more free time.
To what extent do you agree or disagree with this statement?
Saved time
Eased up the burden of repetitive jobs, and preventing errors, thereby saving immense time
Helping organize work and studies better
Even at home people are spared of the need to constantly monitor the household chores
Telecommuting and online classes
NO
Learning new skills has become a perennial process
Rising expectations from employers; adoption of technology has led to streamlining of work processes and reducing staff, pushing workers to embrace more responsibilities
Distractions caused by social media makes one waste their time
Undeniably, the advent of the state-of-the-art tools and methods has radicalized the way mankind engages with work: at home, job, education, and other domains, but has it helped spare extra time, is something that needs a serious analysis.
Availability of up-to-date aids has allowed circumvent the need to negotiate repetitive tasks: mitigating errors and enhancing efficiency, sparing moments, otherwise wasted in negotiating those tasks. This phenomenon has been specifically observed in occupations, like manufacturing, warehousing, customer service, and healthcare, to name a few, where one is subjected to perform complex tasks, and become prone to spending long hours battling with the work. Those engaged in these realms report saving at least two hours per day.
On a similar note, home makers have been the biggest beneficiaries of the modern devices and appliances that have rendered household chores virtually effortless besides speeding them up, making their life uncomplicated. Now, while cooking, doing laundry, cleaning floors, mowing lawns, and so forth, one is relieved of the onerous responsibility of consistently performing and monitoring the process ceaselessly, and can instead focus on other things, and finish their work quickly.
Nevertheless, there are some complaining of being busier than the past, particularly those working in domains that allow work from home: information technology, financial and data analysis, and teachers, wherein the personnel report that their employers have pruned the labor force, making it leaner, thereby burdening employees with extra responsibilities: they are expected to handle more work than yesteryears.
In hindsight, barring a few less fortunate who have become victims of modernization, a majority report being able to break the mundane and gain some spare time for themselves. I feel that with the passing time, those suffering currently will also see light at the end of the tunnel.
