Next time when you’re in a public place, take a look around you. And     1     how many people are using their phones. I can tell you now that it is probably more than half, whether you are on a bus, in a cafe     2     simply walking down the street.

I’m not saying that I am an example of this, but it     3     amazes me how people can spend so much time on their phones without talking to others. Has it gone too far?

Recently, my smart phone broke and had to be sent off for repair for a week or so. I had to use a really old, basic phone just to keep me in touch with my family and friends. It allowed me to spend more time enjoying my time in London and watching the people     4     me and really see what was going on.

However, I knew that as soon as I got my smart phone back I would be one of those people once again. Perhaps I should just go back to using     5     basic phone and forget I ever got my smart phone back.

5 . More and more people in China are now showing parts of their lives to the world by videos on their phones. Some people send videos of personal events like holidays and weddings.

Using live streaming（网络直播）is very popular among the people aged 18 to 35. Even the teachers give lessons by live streaming. Besides leaving reviews on the screen, they can also communicate directly with the hosts by buying virtual（虚拟的） gifts such as flowers, toys and cars for them online.

What’s more, live streaming allows users to communicate with strangers and express themselves. A 19-year-old college student called Nora Li says she spends three to four hours each week chatting and singing with viewers through one app called Ingkee. “Sometimes I feel lonely and want to talk to people,” she says. “I feel nice when viewers are paying attention to me.”

However, there are worries about the misuse of live streaming. Papi Jiang promised to correct her unsuitable and impolite language after she was warned by the officials. Now there are more than 80 apps and 300 websites for live streaming in China.

“We support the use of live streaming. But people should know the two sides of it,” one of the officials said.

7 . Do you know what your friends watched on TV last night? Do your friends know what you had for breakfast today? Do you think you are using social media (社交媒体) too much?

    1     It is reported that around 2,800 million people often use social media. That’s almost 40 percent of the world’s population. But how much time do we really spend on social media? And what exactly do we spend that time doing?

Research shows that, worldwide, the average (普通的) person spends two hours and 19 minutes on social media each day.     2     An average person there spends four hours and 17 minutes a day on social media. Research also shows that women use social media more than men. In the United States, for example, women spend around two hours more a week than men on social media.

    3     In general, it seems we spend more time looking at other people’s pages than adding to our own. According to one survey, the most common social media activities are visiting friends’ pages, reading their news, and commenting (评论) on their posts.

    4     It has over 2,000 million users. In second place, however, is the Chinese site Qzone. In 2017, Qzone was China's most popular social media site, with around 600 million users worldwide. That's more than Twitter and Instagram.

Social media continues to grow.     5     And as Internet access (通道) becomes available to even more people around the world, this growth won't stop anytime soon.

8 . Have you ever heard of e-waste, which can be produced every day? How do you deal with your computers, MP4 players and mobile phones when they’re broken or you want a new one?

Most people just throw them away. With the development of electric industry, e-waste pollution has become a serious problem. According to the United Nations, in 2014, people around the world produced 41.8 million tons of e-waste and only recycled 6.5 million tons. The US was the biggest waster, producing 7.1 million tons. China came second, with 6 million tons.

It’s important to pay attention to e-waste. It can either be valuable or harmful, depending on how we deal with it. E-waste is a valuable urban mine. The value of the metals, like gold and silver in the waste around the world, is amazing. And the metals can be reused. But if people throw them away, the toxic chemicals can get into the earth or air, effecting the environment and people’s health.

Apple, for example, now recycle people’s used products in China when they are buying new ones. The company will test and repair the used ones and sell them at lower prices. To help reduce e-waste, we can also take computers and phones to see if companies offer recycling programs.