IELTS Task 2 Sample Answer 14 - Nowadays, people always throw the old things away when they buy new things and we are living in a throw-away society. What factors cause this phenomenon? What effects the phenomenon leads to?

Nowadays, there is a continual expansion of one’s wants and needs for goods. Recycling and reusing have become the acts of olden times and the new trend is to procure (acquire) brand new goods and discard old commodities.  The influence of commercials (advertisements) and the improved buying capacity of the users can be directly linked to this happening, consequently (as a result) leading to the damage of the ecosystem.

The major factor leading to the throw away culture is the influence of advertisements in different forms. This seeds the interest in consumers which in turn encourage customers to buy the advanced goods mostly with an additional feature to the older ones. In addition, it is also a fact that people hardly find any interest to repair the old product as this process may be expensive and time consuming.

Another reason why people today prefer to buy new things to the old ones is that they have improved living standards resulting in the upgraded buying capacity. This situation is precipitated by a wide range of products for selection in terms of price and quality. For instance in the area of visual technology, people choose to buy high end televisions by dumping older ones even when it is possible to reuse them if repaired.

However, the detrimental effects of this practice cannot be neglected. When older goods are expelled out, it will directly increase the quantity of rubbish especially the e-waste which is a problem of global concern as it is hard to discard it in an eco-friendly manner. Moreover, increased consumerism leads to increased production which will further utilise many natural resources which are already facing a threat of extinction and thus harms the natural habitat. This trend will definitely affect the future generation’s wellbeing.

In conclusion, use and throw has become a vogue (fashion) of the present generation. It is true that it is not practical to avoid this trend completely. However this can be minimised (reduced) so as to prevent huge damage to our planet.