1st Speaker Charmian Kok

(English Debate Script)

Technology Advancement
Promotes a Materialistic Society
Salutations I bid to

The Master of Ceremony,

Accurate Timekeepers,
Respected Comrades,
My charming but unfortunately
mislead opponents,
And all members of the floor,
Good morning!
I as the 1st speaker of the
affirmative strongly agree with the
motion for today which is,
Technology Advancement
Promotes a Materialistic
Society. I will state the 1st point
for today, followed by our 2nd
speaker, who will continue proving
how strong our motion for today is
by stating 2 more points, which the
3rd speaker have the enviable task
to knock all the points and
elaborations made by all the
negatives. Before I continue with
my agenda, let me first explain to
everyone the definition of our
topic.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
According to the Oxford English
Dictionary, Technology is defined
as the sum of the ways in which

social groups provide themselves

with the material objects of their
civilization. Advancement
however, is defined as
development or progress in doing
something. The meaning of
Promote is to give publicity to
increase public awareness.
Materialistic on the other hand is
explained as believing and
concerning that having possessions
of something is the most important
thing in life. The word Society
however is defined as a
community.
With the given definition and the
wide understanding of the key
words given, technology
advancement makes the
society greedy with wealth and
possessions. I, as the affirmative,
wholeheartedly support our motion
today. I shall now state the first
point. Technology in the world
today is a necessity throughout the
globe. Now, why do I say this? As
you can see, since the 1980s our
technological consumption has
increased due to the introduction of
a large amount of new products.
People in our society are always
worried about the latest gadgets.
Apple Company said it shipped 9.8
million iPods in the first quarter of
last year. Macintosh shipments rose
to 33%, that is a shipment of about
1.7 million computers!

Gene Munster, managing director

and research analyst of Piper
Jeffrey believes Apple is on track to
sell as many as 45 million iPhones.
These statistics shows that people
are dying for the newest
technology. You can see that
materialism and individualism in
todays society are the biggest
obstacles. The thought of Im in
it for me (I buy it for me) has
become embedded in the national
consciousness,
In todays social order, the most
probable cause of materialism is
due to most high school and
college or university student. In the
article Society by Terry Nicholas
Clark, it is simply stated, There
were increases of 10% points or
more in the proportions of high
school seniors owning high end
contraptions such as mobile
phones and laptops.
Madonnas famous song, Material
girl, is a comment of materialism
and consumerism. I quote,
Because the boy with the cold,
hard cash is always Mr. Right. Is
this song a comment of our times
and our increasing greed? The
introduction of personal computers
and the Internet has revolutionized
the way business is performed and
the way consumers buy and sell
products. Technology has grown at
such a fast rate, that consumers
will upgrade their mobile phones
and computers not after years of

use, but months or perhaps even

weeks, as new gadgets are being
introduced daily!
Take the Apple iPhone as an
example. It was only introduced in
January 2007 and version 4GS was
released later in October 2011. Five
versions in 4 and a half years?
What was so bad about Version 1
that it had to be upgraded so
quickly? The reason is that the
consumer themselves demand for
more new applications. Isnt that
considered as materialistic?
Dearest Members of the Floor,
In the race for riches, the
manufacturers of these technical
goods update their products
regularly and with the competition
so fierce, prices are becoming
increasingly competitive, which
means more consumers will buy
more devices as they want to keep
up-to-date with the mass, even
though it will cost a bomb.
Materialism and consumerism is
ever expanding in developed
nations and is even increasing in
some emerging nations. Countries
such as China, Korea, South Africa,
Brazil and Kenya are embracing
consumerism with as much fervor
as their western counterparts.
Before I take my sit, I, as the
affirmative, highly believe that we
have sufficient proof to convince
my charming opponents that

TECHNOLOGY ADVANCEMENT
PROMOTES A MATERIALISTIC
SOCIETY because
People are becoming increasingly
self-indulgent due to the fast track
evolution of technology. If this
keeps up, materialism may soon be
part of human nature. Is this the

face of society that you would want

to see in the near future? The
generation that you would want
your children to grow up in?
With this I conclude my points. I
would now take my seat. Thank
you!