Social Science Essays

MATERIAL LIVES ARE RUINING SOCIAL LIVES
In this essay I would like to introduce you to the way material items have over the years Destroyed social lives, not just in City Road, Cardiff but all over our society in Britain. When first you look down City Road, at a glance, it is just like any normal high street in any town, Like in my own town of Greenock. Cars and buses hurrying people to and from work and school, pedestrians rushing past without time to stop and say hello, here is what I have seen….
Looking in depth down City Road it has become apparent this road is not well adapted for such busy traffic, cars parked everywhere on pavements and even on pedestrian crossings as can be seen in the material lives dvd where a lollypop lady has to request a driver moves their car from the crossing to allow people to cross. All these material things causing havoc in our lives, are they really necessary? I believe not. Instead it is destroying social lives. Let me give you some examples, taken from the Material lives DVD, Lloyd Robson visited a local newsagents who has had shop on the street for over 20 years, the shop owner advised not even many children visit his shop anymore for their weekly comics and sweets and also chatting with another shop owner on the street who originally comes from Africa, Lloyd Robson found that they both feel they have lost their identities nowadays on City Road.
According to Blakely et al (2009) some people may gain e.g. the large Tesco store now situated on city Road, adapted for quick shopping and people who have no time to stop and chat. Blakely et al (2009) also stated others would lose out, e.g. the small shop owners like the two I have previously mentioned. But I do not think anybody has realised how much our social lives would actually lose out or how this would affect more than the small businesses. The local community has also declined due to no social contact whether it be out on the local high street or in local newsagents buying a daily paper. Material things just seem more important these days than our own net door neighbours. Not once while watching the material lives DVD did I see people stop in the street to chat to others and I see this more and more in my own high street in Greenock also. One thing I have observed is that City Road is very much a multi cultured area with family run shops and restaurant along its way, like the sari shop and the long standing Taste Buds Café owned by Jose Ramos Suarez who serves up a wide range menu of multi

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