Following feedback on the first essay I’d written for an ACT mock, I had a go at another. I would be very, very grateful if any of you could help me on my way.
Prompt:
Declining Event Attendeance
For many years, the only way to see a large public event - a concert, a movie, a baseball game - was to attend in person. More than just a function of necessity, though, physically attending a large event was seen as an opportunity to build community and fellowship through shared experience. In recent years, however, attendance at public events has declined steadily. Given the long-standing cultural role of public events, it is worth considering what declining attendance might indicate about our shifting cultural values.
P1 - People these days value convenience over community. It’s easier to watch a game from home than to attend in person, so we do it, even though it keeps us isolated from one another.
P2 - For many people, attending an event is a luxury they cant afford. When time and resources are scarce, we choose what’s most practical first, even if that means sacrificing community participation.
P3 - Today, physical presence isn’t necessary for participating in an event and building community. TV, the Internet, and social media offer shared experience to more people than large public events ever could before.
Essay:
The decline in attendance figures at large public events has drawn the eye of those who think it may reflect changing cultural values and a general societal shift, especially given the long-standing role of experiencing these events in person as a bond-creator amongst people through shared experience. Societal shifts are inevitable as times move on, and in an increasingly technological age, we are seeing that communities are being formed away from the stadiums and even on virtual, shared platforms. It would be a mistake to think that society has suddenly prioritised convenience over community.
Convenience has always been a problem for a large portion of the potential audience who are simply too busy to plan and travel aside from their daily lives. Through technology, users are experiencing unprecedented access to viewing events in the convenience of their own homes. Sports leagues are paying millions of dollars’ worth of TV deals for the rights to broadcast their events primarily because of the massive demand for convenient viewing, not in response to declining attendance figures. This is because of the development of TV as an alternative to watching a game in life. Booming technological investment has allowed the normal person, who has to work and sort out their own affairs, an easier way to enjoy the game without having to allocate a large period of time physically going to the game (let alone the qualms that come with it, such as matchday traffic). Therefore, it can be reasonably inferred that the greater convenience has not come from a cultural shift but has instead been offered by the development of technology.
Moreover, the act of going to the game itself has always been a problem for those who can’t afford it. For example, those who are struggling to pay their bills, and yet enjoy watching a movie, would be forgiven, and praised, for prioritising their work over enjoyment because of the practicality of it.
It’s important to think consider that convenience doesn’t necessarily have to come at the cost of community-building. While people may enjoy concerts and movies on their smart TVs and computers at home, inviting people over to share the experience is also common. Isolation is not a given. Nowadays, through platforms such as Youtube and Twitch, streaming has become commonplace, alongside a comments section and forums. Sports leagues actively promote building their fanbase through increasing accessibility virtually and interaction. This is an act of community building that may not be so easy in a stadium. Furthermore, you would be hard-pressed to find someone who went to a stadium and made over twenty new friends in one game – a larger audience in one place does not replace the capacity for human interaction.
In conclusion, cultural shifts, principally through the use of technology, has seen a shift from the requirement of physical presence to create a community to just a common interest mentioned on the Internet, and has instead increased the boundaries of offering a shared experience. While there may be more convenience in watching movies or sports games at home, as well as an increased practicality, this does not reflect a cultural change but instead reflects an easier time to interact with the events people love.