Reading. Task 1. Read the text and mark the statements as T (true), F (false) or DS (doesn’t say).
Do we spend too much time in front of screens?
In the UK, 71% of people own a smartphone, and many believe that this helps bring people together. Nevertheless, many are now starting to complain that technology can interfere badly with our work and social lives.

According to a recent survey, around 59% said that they felt they were addicted to usinglaptops, phones or other devices for accessing the Internet. Furthermore, another 30% said they found it difficult to stop themselves from going online.

Although the Internet makes it a whole lot easier to get information, keep in touch with friends, and browse for entertainment, it can also become a huge problem if people are using it too much. Nearly 20% of teenagers in the survey confessed that this had made them late for school. However, far more teenagers – 60% – said that they were forgetting to do their homework because they were too busy doing something else online.

It isn’t just teenagers who are finding screen addiction a problem. Surprisingly, adults are spending around 25 hours a week online. In total, people are going online to post updates, check emails, use apps and so on more than 50 times each day.
It is not surprising, then, that many of us feel that the Internet has a negative effect on our lives. Around 40% believe that their friend sare a lot more interested in using their smartphone or tablet in social situations than interacting with the real people around them. It is increasingly common for people to text messages to their family or friends, despite these people actually being in the same house or room.

Perhaps all of this explains why more of us are deliberately looking for ways to escape being online. Many people in the survey said that they tried to spend one day each week not using the Internet at all and some said that they regularly managed to do this for a whole week. Around 16% said that they tried to plan holidays where they wouldn’t have any Internet access at all (for example, farms in the countryside, or remote mountain villages). One of the main reasons for this, according to 38% of people, was to spend a lot more time face-to-face with their friends and family.

Interestingly, younger people are more likely to succeed in giving up the Internet than older adults. ‘Phone stacking’ is becoming a new trend among friends – going to cafés or restaurants, and promising to put their smartphones in the middle of the table and not touch them until everyone leaves. And in some places, internet-free cafés and bars are becoming more popular with young people who just want to enjoy time together without feeling the need to go online.

1. Many people who own smartphones can identify problems with using them.
2. Most people use the Internet for work.
3. Most teenagers in the survey feel that the Internet helps them concentrate on homework.
4. Some people send messages to each other when they could easily speak to them.
5. There are very few places where there is no Internet access.
6. People want internet-free places so that they needn’t communicate with other people.
7. Young people are finding new ways to limit the amount of time they spend online.