TOEFL essay sample: Do you agree or disagree that progress is always good?

[Secilhulya]

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Nowadays, the term progress is widely used since humankind experience rapid changes in every aspect of life. Even though its meaning is generally perceived positively by many people, we should also look at the other side of the coin. Which means, I don’t think that progress is always good. Throughout this essay, I will try to figure out why I hold this opinion.

No doubt, there are plenty of technological developments such as Internet, mobile phones, televisions, computers, planes and so on that make our lives easier and more comfortable. However, how many people are really aware of the side effects of those improvements on society? Let’s start with the Internet.It is true that people who are in different locations can easily communicate efficiently via Internet.Especially multinational companies whose branches are scattered around the world can make use of the benefits of the Internet. On the other hand, there are also strong scientific facts which state the intense usage of the Internet weaken the physical interactions among people and makes them less social. Since a close friend of mine is a psychologist, I know many of his patients suffer from the side effects of the Internet and ask for help in order to stabilize their social lifes. What’s more, in addition to all the benefits of mobile phones, many scientists postulate that mobile phones are among the main causes of the cancer. They state that the intense and prevalent use of mobile phones even among young population increase the occurance of a variety of different types of cancer.

With the rapid industrilization, another serious problem occurs- pollution- especially in the “developing countries” such as China, India. Many multinational companies transfer their factories and other operations to the developing countries because of the availability of cheap labor, raw materials and so on.Since laws that adjust the industrial operations in those countries don’t work as efficiently as in those of developed ones, many different types of pollution damage the environment there. People who live around insdustrialized areas can not breath fresh air, animals cannot survive because of chemical waste left their envionment. Besides, ground water resources are polluted and humankind will lack of water soon. They are all bad effects of the industrilization, that is rapid progress

Another reason why I think progress is not always good is that people nowadays experience a faster life than before.There are more competition in every aspect of the life. The need for obeying and challenging with this intense rivalry makes people more nervous and can cause psychological disorders.

To sum up, by explaining some of side effects of the progress above, it is obvious that progress is not always positive. Besides its many benefits, there are many serious problems that stem from the term progress. Let’s wish those problems can be eliminated with more progress.