MEH p 6. The Life cycle of a Trend. Written Mediation

You have been asked to do a presentation on the life cycle of a technology trend. Write the introduction to the presentation using the information in the infographic below.  Use around 150 words.

The Life Cycle of a Technology Trend

1970s Vinyl records
1980s Cassette tapes
1990s CDs
2000s MP3 players
2010s Music streaming
2016 Digital music is overtaken by Vinyl records 

Sample answer

Technology trends are very simple at first sight: older technologies become (1)__________ (DATE) and (2)_______________ (ANACHRONISM), to be (3)_____________ (PLACE) by newer, (4)____________ (FUNKY) technologies, until they are (5)___________ (RENDER) (6)_____________ (OBSOLESCENCE) with the next cycle. In this way, the vinyl records of the 1970s gave way to cassettes in the 1980s. By the 1990s, cassettes were old hat and CDs were (7)________________ (STATE). By the 2000s, we all loved novel gadgets like MP3 (8)___________ (PLAY). But by the 2010s, we had cloud-based music (9)_____________ (STREAM) services like Spotify. Why limit yourself to the music you own, when you can stream every song ever recorded? 

But in 2016, the (10)_____________ (EXPECT) happened: sales of vinyl records in the UK (11)_______________ (OUTSTRIP) (12)____________ (DIGIT) music sales for the first time. The (13)______________ (NEW) interest in vinyl is a (14)________________ (POWER) (15)_____________ (MIND) that trends don’t always flow in a straight line from fringe products to mass-market (16)____________________ (BLOCK). It also reminds us to pay attention to the (17)______________ (DURABLE) of trends over decades, not just the (18)_____________ (TERM) ups and downs of the (19)_____________ (LATE) fads.

KEY

1. outdated

 

 

 

2. anachronistic

 

 

 

3. replaced

 

 

 

4. funkier

funky: fashionable and unusual. E.g. She wears really funky clothes.

 

 

 

5. rendered

render:  

render somebody/something + adj. (formal) to cause somebody/something to be in a particular state or condition. synonym: make. 

E.g.     

to render something harmless/useless/ineffective     

Hundreds of people were rendered homeless by the earthquake 

6. obsolete/ obsolescent

obsolete: adjective   /ˈɒbsəliːt/   /ˌɑːbsəˈliːt/  no longer used because something new has been invented. synonym: out of date.

E.g.

obsolete technology         

With technological changes many traditional skills have become obsolete

obsolescent /ˌɒbsəˈlesnt/ becoming old-fashioned and no longer useful.

E.g.  obsolescent equipment/technology 

7. state-of-the-art

state-of-the-art: using the most modern and recently developed methods, materials, or knowledge.

E.g.

state-of-the-art technology  

His new laptop is state-of-the-art. 

8. players

 

 

 

9. streaming

 

 

 

10. unexpected

 

 

 

11. outstripped

outstrip: /ˌaʊtˈstrɪp/ outstrip something to be faster, better or more successful than somebody you are competing against. synonym surpass.

E.g.

Their latest computer outstrips all its rivals.

 

 

 

12. digital 

 

 

 

13. renewed 

 

 

 

14. powerful 

 

 

 

15. reminder 

 

 

 

16. blockbusters

blockbuster: /ˈblɒkbʌstə(r)/ something very successful, especially a very successful book or film. 

E.g.

the latest Hollywood blockbuster

 

 

 

17. durability 

 

 

 

18. short-term 

 

 

 

19. latest