Digital Assistants
Write a discursive essay exploring the impact of digital assistants, such as Siri or Alexa, on our daily lives.
Your task:
- Discuss the arguments for how these devices provide convenience and helpful support.
- Discuss the arguments for how they might cause over-reliance or discourage independent thinking.
- Conclude by sharing your own balanced perspective on whether they are ultimately a benefit or a drawback.
Ensure you present a balanced exploration of both viewpoints before reaching your final conclusion.
💡 Writing Tips
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Think about what digital assistants do for people, like answering questions or playing music.
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Brainstorm ways they make life easier (e.g., quick answers, setting timers).
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Brainstorm ways they might make people lazier (e.g., not thinking for ourselves, not remembering).
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Try to give examples from your own life or what you've seen.
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Remember to talk about both sides of the argument before you share your own opinion.
📝 Sample Answer
Digital assistants like Alexa are quite clever! On one hand, they definitely make life easier. If I need to know what 7 x 8 is for my maths homework, I can just ask, and it tells me straight away. It's also handy for playing my favourite songs when I'm tidying my room, or for setting a timer when I'm baking. It feels very convenient because I don't have to stop what I'm doing to look things up.
However, sometimes I wonder if they make us a bit lazy. Instead of trying to remember things, or even looking in a book, it's so easy to just shout out a question to Alexa. What if we start to forget how to find information for ourselves, or we don't try to remember facts because we know we can just ask? My mum says sometimes she relies on it too much for simple things. So, while they are super helpful, I think we still need to remember to use our own brains sometimes too!
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