_In Class Commentary

Central Issue
This issue is about youngsters who have their eyes glued to their cellphones or absorbed in the music from their earphones. Some of these youngsters are oblivious to their surroundings, and some even sms when they are doing dangerous things like crossing the road, or even when driving. Some view this as an accident waiting to happen, while others think that it is boring without iPods or fancy gadgets to keep them occupied. Even people who have jobs that require high levels of alertness still listen to music from their mp3 players. Should we risk the safety of others or even our lives for the sake of entertainment?

Commentary
He lay in a pool of blood, with is white earphones still loosely attached to his ears. A crowd gathers around his lifeless body, as this innocent person had just become the next victim of the many car accidents that happen every year. The driver had banged on the horn to alert the jaywalker about the accident that was about to happen. Had he not been blasting the music through his noise cancelling earphones, he would have been able to step back and save his own life.
Look around when you step out into an MRT, or even when you walk on the streets, and you will find many eyes glued to handphones, fingers rapidly pressing and punching on the buttons of their handphones and ears stuffed with noise cancelling earphones. Most of these people are young people. They are all oblivious to their surroundings, and they are occupied when doing even the most dangerous of things. In this essay I will prove that it is not worth it to risk your life or the safety of others for the sake of entertainment when doing dangerous things or things that require being alert. The factors I shall discuss are, have your attention taken away from you whilst doing dangerous things, boredom whilst walking on the street, and being distracted while doing high risk jobs.
Firstly, I think that having your attention taken away from you when you are doing dangerous things is an accident waiting to happen. These dangerous things I am talking about are crossing the road, and driving etc, where your life or others lives can be put in danger. When crossing the road, if you are text messaging, your eyes are not on the road, and by the time you notice the speeding car racing toward you, it might just be too late. Tan Jin Thong, president of the national safety council of Singapore said that plugging into music will certainly increase the risk of accidents. Also, drivers who are texting while driving can also be distracted and put other’s lives in danger. The RAC foundation found that sending messages and driving simultaneously reduced reaction time by 35 percent. Even the USA track and field team barred marathon runners from using headphones and portable audio players. Therefore this supports my point in saying that it is not worth it to risk your life or the safety of others for the sake of entertainment when doing dangerous things or things that require being alert.
However, I feel that another point to note is that youngsters in general think that it is very boring without the company of others to talk with, and so they turn to technology to keep them occupied. Esni Abimanjyu said, “Sometimes I can’t hear bicycles coming from behind me but I don’t think it’s dangerous. I’d be bored without my iPod. Young people enjoy entertaining themselves when they’re out and about. Seah Jia Hao, 17 said that he didn’t think that it was dangerous to listen to music while walking on the road, as he thinks that it is the driver’s responsibility to look out for him because the driver is in front of him. Ms Farhana said that muic sets the mood and would rather listen to music even though she knows that it is dangerous, and this does not support my poin in that it is not worth it to risk your life or the safety of others for the sake of entertainment when doing dangerous things or things that require being alert.
Lastly, I personally feel that many people who do jobs that require alertness should not listen to earphones as they will distract them and put others at risk. Mr Patrick Wong, assistant managing director for Top Guard Security Agency, said that while his firm does not ban earphones during work, it is not encouraged. Even though the jobs such as security guards may be boring, I feel that it may put other’s safety at risk, and this therefore supports my point that it is not worth it to risk your life or the safety of others for the sake of entertainment when doing dangerous things or things that require being alert.
In conclusion, I think that it is not worth it to risk your life or the safety of others for the sake of entertainment when doing dangerous things or things that require being alert.