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People who live in the twenty first century have a better quality of life than people who live in previous centuries. To what extent do you agree or disagree?

The twenty first century appears to witness more dramatic changes than ever in all aspects of societies, ranging from economic growth and technological advances to altered lifestyles. In my view, all these changes contribute to a better quality of life for humans in this century.

The primary change would be the increased longevity and improved health of human beings, which are clearly attributable to the improvement in diet and health care at present times. The technological progress in food production and preservation has made it possible for people in most parts of the world to have a diverse diet that offers more comprehensive nutrients essential to our health. Apart from better physical status due to diet alteration, health care in societies has also been significantly improved owing to medical advances in modern times, including great progress in treatments of major diseases such as heart problems and cancer. All these can be hard to imagine in previous centuries, when people in many places were still struggling with starvation and suffering from various diseases unable to be properly treated at that time.

Not only do we live longer and healthier, but we are also living in greater comfort in this highly-intelligent world. Artificial intelligence, a typical type of twenty first century technologies, allows machines to learn from experience and perform human-like tasks with high accuracy and efficiency, freeing modern people from a variety of mechanically repetitive work. For example, smart domestic appliances such as dishwashers and robot sweepers have, to a large extent, eased housework burden upon homemakers. By contrast, those in previous times generally experienced burnout for lack of technological support.  

Finally, in addition to material affluence, we are also more spiritually fulfilled than we ever have been in history. The time and effort saved by smart devices is now being devoted to personal growth in professional fields, high-quality family life, or other areas that matter to us. This shift of our focus onto more self-worth goals makes us feel that we are living a life that is worth living, rather than just being alive for most of the lifetime without any sparkling moments of true contentedness, as was probably the case in the past.

In conclusion, I am firmly convinced that people in the twenty first century are living a better life than before due to improved health, greater comfort in daily life and higher level of spiritual fulfillment secured by the amazing progress in contemporary economy and technologies.