Do you think timesaving devices helped people to work less and have more leisure time? The devices became common since the Industrial Revolution, but still in the 21st century, we suffer from harder and longer work. Therefore, there is no relation between timesaving devices and better quality of life. The tools were ineffective in easing the burden of work because of two reasons; they don't' save time but energy of people and the society is way too competitive.
First, the so-called timesaving devices are actually "labor saving" devices. Let's think of some examples. Vacuum cleaner, washing machine, dishwasher can be good ones. They do save time for people, but more important point is that people use less energy by using them. They don't have to do house chores working long hours wiping all the sweat. In contrary, nowadays, when the machine does laundry for people, they have more time to work on their unfinished tasks or study for exams. That is why despite these inventions, people are still working all day.
Second, people are living in a very competitive society. People spend extra time to develop their skills or work on their projects. It has become like a mandatory thing to make the best use of time for work. So saving time from house chores doesn't always mean that you can have more leisure time. People regard the saved time not as a time to relax and enjoy life, but as a time to make up for their real work. In other words, although people can choose that time for leisure pursuits, they tend to stick to their professional work even in the free time.
Some people might say that the timesaving devices made people work less and enjoy leisure time. On some points, I agree with that view. Because I also sometimes watch TV as leisure whiles the washing machine cleanses my clothes. However, it doesn't happen like that all the time. Most cases, I use that extra time to finish my assignments. It is clear that people are still under a lot of work pressure in spite of the technological development. Because even though the advancement lightened the burden of house chores, it provided more time to work in other fields.
To sum up, the timesaving devices didn't really make a good influence on quality of life. It is because in such a competitive world, people cannot always use the time saved by machines for leisure purposes. Instead, they tend to spend the time working on things other than house chores. That is why we have to come up with other ways to improve our lives.
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