It was forecasted that the rapid development of technology would result in an unprecedented amount of free time in the twenty-first century. Although in recent times people have more leisure time thanks to the support of technological devices, they also devote much of their time to work industriously.
It is understandable that individuals these days can have more time for relaxation. The foremost reason for this is the effective adaptation of technical devices in doing houseworks. In the past, people had to complete most of their home tasks, including some laborious tasks, by hand. By contrast, in recent times there have been numerous devices invented to support people in doing house chores such as vacuum cleaners, washing machines or even housework robots, resulting in more time spent on other tasks in life. Moreover, people can also save a substantial amount of time in completing office tasks owing to the appearance of technical advancements. In workplaces, the use of computers or tablets can accelerate the pace and process of working.
However, people in recent society may lose much of their free time. Firstly, this is because of the highly competitive job market. In such a cut-throat labor market, individuals have a tendency to sacrifice their time to work and study industriously to achieve their particular targets to have competitive advantage. It is true that to have promotion and career advancements, an employer probably has to work extra time to have breakthrough ideas or accomplish work tasks productively. Consequently, the time spent for recreation may be lost at the expense of high-qualified working outcomes. Secondly, individuals are potentially at a higher risk of dealing with more problems. The significant rise in population and the degradation of some aspects of life have led to many problems and troubles to be dealt with such as environmental pollution, political issues or unemployment. Therefore, people should allocate a huge part of their time to solve these difficulties, leading to less free time.
In conclusion, humans can have more leisure time because of the contribution of technological devices but there are still tremendous problems that people might have to spend a huge amount of time to address.