1. A question about modern life
Smartphones have changed the way we live. We can contact almost anyone, find our way around unfamiliar places, take photographs, read the news, shop, manage our money and learn new skills. Many of these activities can be done in a few seconds.
But there are questions worth asking. Do we spend too much time looking at screens? Do we receive too many messages? Do we get enough sleep and exercise? Are we sometimes so busy responding to other people that we have too little time to think?
Technology can make life easier: We have access to so much information.
Technology can also create problems: There may be too many distractions and not enough time to concentrate.
This unit does not assume that smartphones are either good or bad. You will look at advantages, disadvantages and evidence, and then decide where the balance should lie.
2. What do smartphones give us?
Think about how much more we can do with a phone than we could with a mobile telephone twenty-five years ago. A modern smartphone is also a camera, map, music player, library, newspaper, diary, calculator, shopping centre and communication device.
| Area | Possible benefits | Questions to consider |
|---|---|---|
| Communication | We can keep in touch with family, friends and colleagues wherever they are. | Do we communicate more often but sometimes have less meaningful conversations? |
| Information | We can find answers quickly and access news, reference material and courses. | Do we have too much information to judge what is reliable? |
| Navigation and travel | Maps, live travel information and digital tickets can save time. | Do we rely too much on directions from a device? |
| Health and safety | Phones can help people contact emergency services, arrange appointments and monitor activity. | Can health apps provide useful information without making us anxious? |
| Entertainment | Music, films, games and books are available almost everywhere. | Do we sometimes spend more time watching than doing? |
| Work and study | We can work remotely, practise languages and share documents. | Is it becoming difficult to switch off? |
3. What does the evidence tell us?
Statistics can help us understand how people use technology. They do not, by themselves, tell us whether that use is good or bad.
Time spent online by UK adults
Average daily personal online time in May 2025. The measure includes smartphones, tablets and computers; it excludes work-related online time. The figures compare age groups, not individual people.
How widespread is internet access?
95% of the UK population aged 16 and over had access to the internet at home in the Ofcom 2025 report. Five per cent did not have home internet access.
Access does not tell us how often someone goes online, what they do online or whether they own a smartphone.
How much physical activity should adults get?
UK Chief Medical Officers advise adults to aim for at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week, such as brisk walking or cycling, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, or a combination. Adults should also minimise sedentary time and break up long periods of inactivity where possible.
The guidance does not set one simple maximum number of hours for sitting or screen use. Some people can meet activity recommendations and still spend long periods sitting.
4. Talking about quantity and degree
A. Too much and too many
Use too much with uncountable nouns and too many with plural countable nouns. Too means more than is desirable, acceptable or needed.
| Uncountable nouns | Plural countable nouns |
|---|---|
| too much screen time too much information too much noise too much pressure | too many messages too many notifications too many distractions too many apps |
I spend too much time checking my phone.
Some people receive too many notifications.
B. Too little and too few
These expressions describe an insufficient quantity. Use too little with uncountable nouns and too few with plural countable nouns.
We have too little time to do everything.
There are too few opportunities to exercise during the working day.
C. Enough and not enough
Use enough + noun, but put enough after an adjective or adverb.
| Before a noun | After an adjective |
|---|---|
| We don't have enough time. Do you get enough sleep? There aren't enough opportunities. | The screen isn't large enough. Are you active enough? It's not clear enough. |
Compare:
There is not enough exercise in my daily routine. (quantity)
I am not active enough. (degree)
D. Too + adjective or adverb
We can use too directly before an adjective or adverb. It means more than is desirable or possible.
The instructions are too complicated.
I am too tired to go out.
Some people check their phones too frequently.
E. Very, too and so
| Expression | Meaning | Example |
|---|---|---|
| very | A high degree; not necessarily a problem. | The app is very useful. |
| too | More than is desirable or acceptable. | The app is too complicated for me. |
| so much / so many | A large quantity; often emphatic. | We receive so many messages. |
F. More, less and fewer
Use more with countable and uncountable nouns, fewer with plural countable nouns, and less with uncountable nouns.
We need more opportunities to be active.
I would like less screen time and fewer interruptions.
Practice 1 – Countable or uncountable?
Choose the expression that fits the noun and the meaning.
Practice 2 – Too, enough or not enough?
Choose the phrase that completes each sentence logically.
Practice 3 – What does the evidence show?
Read Section 3 carefully. Choose only the conclusion supported by the information.
5. Reading – The evening we switched off
On Friday evening, the Harris family decided to try an experiment. From six o'clock until breakfast the following morning, nobody was allowed to use a smartphone, tablet or computer for entertainment. They could still answer an emergency call, but all other devices had to be put away.
At first, there were too many complaints. Ella said she needed her phone because her friends might send messages. Her father argued that he had too much work to do to take part, although he was not actually working that evening. Her younger brother, Sam, said there was nothing to do without a screen.
After dinner, they played a board game. It took a little time for everyone to remember the rules, but soon they were laughing. Later, Ella helped her mother prepare a meal for the next day. Sam read a comic that he had forgotten he owned. Their father went for a short walk and discovered that he had been sitting for much of the day.
The next morning, the family discussed the experiment. Ella admitted that she had not missed her phone as much as she expected. Sam said that one evening was not enough to change his habits, but he had enjoyed the board game. Their father said that technology saved him a lot of time during the week, but he sometimes allowed work messages to interrupt his evenings.
They did not decide to give up their phones. Instead, they agreed that there were times when they used them too much, and other times when they were genuinely useful. They wanted more time together, fewer interruptions at meals and enough time outdoors. The experiment had not proved that smartphones were bad. It had shown them that they needed to make more deliberate choices.
Note: This is a fictional reading passage written for language practice, not a report of a real research experiment.
Practice 4 – Understanding the reading
Choose the best answer according to the passage.
Practice 5 – Critical thinking
Decide whether each statement is supported, not supported, or goes further than the evidence allows.
6. The final debate – Are we getting the balance right?
There is no single correct answer to these questions. Use the language from the unit to explain your views and respond to other opinions.
- Do people spend too much time on their smartphones?
- Do we receive too many notifications?
- Does technology give us more free time, or does it create too many demands?
- Do we have enough time for exercise, sleep and face-to-face conversation?
- Should people switch off their phones at certain times of the day?
- Which uses of a smartphone are essential, and which are simply habits?
A short writing task
Write a short paragraph entitled My ideal relationship with technology. Include at least four of these expressions:
too much · too many · not enough · enough · too little · too few · more · less · fewer · so much · so many
Example opening: “Smartphones are extremely useful, but I think many of us spend too much time looking at them. We have access to so much information, but not always enough time to think about it...”
7. Sources and further reading
The statistics and recommendations in this unit come from the organisations and publications listed below. The links take you to the original reports or official guidance, so you can check the figures and explore the subject further.
Online behaviour and smartphone use
- Ofcom – Online Nation 2025 (published 10 December 2025). The main source for the online-time figures in this unit. See the Overview (printed report pages 4–5) for the headline figures: UK adults spent an average of 4 hours 30 minutes online each day in May 2025; the average was 6 hours 20 minutes for 18–24-year-olds and 3 hours 20 minutes for people aged 65 and over. The report also states that 95% of people aged 16 and over had internet access at home.
- Ofcom – Online Nation 2025, Chapter 2: “Online landscape and sectors”. See “Take-up and use” and Figures 1–2 (printed pages 11–13) for the breakdown of daily online time by device and age group. This shows that smartphones account for the largest share of online time. The report uses data supplied by Ipsos, from its Ipsos iris Online Audience Measurement Service, for May 2025.
- Ofcom – Online Nation 2025, Chapter 3: “Adults’ experiences online”. See the section “Shifting perceptions of the internet: adults becoming less positive about its societal impact” (printed pages 55 onwards). It reports adults’ views about the benefits and risks of being online, their perceptions of its effect on wellbeing, and experiences of potentially harmful material. These are survey responses and should not be treated as proof that internet use causes a particular effect.
Physical activity and sedentary behaviour
- UK Chief Medical Officers – UK Chief Medical Officers’ Physical Activity Guidelines (GOV.UK; updated 10 July 2026). See “Adults (19 to 64 years)” for the recommendation to accumulate at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity activity a week, or 75 minutes of vigorous activity, or a combination. The guidance also recommends minimising sedentary time and breaking up long periods of inactivity where physically possible.
- Department of Health and Social Care – Physical activity for adults and older adults: 19 and over. A shorter official summary of the adult recommendations, including the advice that any activity is better than none and that prolonged periods of inactivity should be broken up.