led by student demonstrators from universities all over the country they gathered at various locations across some four hundred chinese cities calling for democracy freedom of press freedom of speech and greater accountability within the communist party


while not all of their goals were achieved it is widely considered to be a watershed event setting the boundaries on political expressions in china till today, the student protesters through education were equipped to assert their rights in demand political change in the government and were able to achieve moderate success in the direction of their goals


another example in more recent times the never again protest against, gun violence in america following the shooting and, Marjory stone man Douglas high school was set up by a student-led political action community comprising students from the school their goal was to influence the twenty eighteen midterm elections encouraging young people to register to vote demanding legislative


action to prevent similar, a tragedy from occurring again they were known through their twitter hashtags and even embarked on a multi-city bus tour to promote their cause, therefore education undeniably help these students activist organised and articulate their cause and powering them to stand up to politicians and legislation that put them at risk of similar school shootings


so in summary in summary I would like to say while education is a powerful tool capable of bringing us closer to a better world through greater equality and social change it is


it is important sorry it it is still a tool it can be used for the wrong purposes if it is in the wrong hands and can limit innovation in our world that desperately needs it even allow the operation sorry oppression of people


it is also limited in that the cost of education might inhibit its ability to bring about greater equality for all what is most important is for those who willed it to be aware of its potential for the social change and use it wisely for, good thank you


okay


okay so you mentioned that uh education is not important through art this and that and then the mental awareness everything but how do you even create the mental health awareness it's also through education right


I mean education is such a powerful tool that you know how do you if you if you don't reach out to them, through education how do you how can you create an impact in the society if is not through education like I mean art how many people can can connect with art, through music there's very few people who can connect through art or music you so you only reaching out to a very handful people when we talk about you know uh art and music but through education we're reaching to every one


to everybody uh irregardless regardless of whether they like art they like music or whatever it it's it's a it's a way of reaching out to every single person right through education so, sorry ya correct but does it caters to everyone I know it's one of the aspect but here here the the debate topic here is on education being as a powerful tool so shouldn't you be saying that you know that


because you are saying music and thing but isn't music and uh art also a part of an like an education like, they go through this this this education


so there's there's,


yeah but isn't the media isn't the media using isn't the media also using uh


using yeah so you are saying the media is using so media is using a way so is using this the the media people are using the media platform to reach out to the masses that's why is in a way educating them right telling them that okay this has happened


and you uses so I think the definition of may education has to be clarified here again because your arts and music is a platform is not an education it's a platform, where people used to to reach out to the masses so it's it's still a platform but it is still a way of educating people correct so education is still a powerful tool


ya so I think my point here I'm trying to say here is that you you are using media, or whatever it is a platform but it is still we're we're here talking about the broader topic here which is called education so media is just a subset of or you know the arts and everything is a subset of an education so it is still the information is still being disseminated through


through other form uh through the the the forms that you are mentioning media music uh art and whatever but it is still educating right it we are still doing the the work of educating people so when you're educating something it's still considered an education what you're educating so here


we here we are here I'm proposing that education is the powerful too so, is there anything else besides education that we can make we can use to make the world a better place, in I'm asking do you have anything that you think that can be that we can use besides education to make the world a better place


sorry I didn't say uh finland had uh happiest country my point on finland was uh the finnish education is one of the world's best education, so the point here there I was making is on the fact that because they have the best education system in the world


and they are they are making do away with all this uh you know uh standards of streaming and whatsoever so they they're creating equality so there is no there is no discrimination if you're a boy or a girl you cannot study there's no discrimination of uh you are rich or a poor


so I my my my my my, proposition point was on that about it being one of the best education system because they do not have any discrimination going on there so it create it gives equal opportunity to everybody whether is it a female or a male


but here but here I'm wait wait we are not talking about happiness we here we talking about education of how we can make it a better place how we can claim okay


debate topic one


okay to, oppose this, uh, I will say no, that not education doesn't just uh doesn't prepare the young for a world that is constantly changing, higher education has faced many challenges


and with this it faces a greatest combination of challenges such as economic uncertainty accountability globalisation and emerging technologies that are daunting to learn and intimidating to implement, so for now


we have a world that is actually trying to focus on, VUCA VUCA, accurately describes this complex evolving and dynamic environment confronted by this global higher education, this global higher education are attempting to develop the capacity to adapt and modify the new models of knowledge information in change


, last time many years back we used to always have our search engine as yahoo, who knew that google will take over, nowadays because of this pandemic to uh to oppose your point you mentioned about the pandemic this pandemic has actually made us realise a lot of things it's just not education with education you didn't we it was more of a


people create uh I mean it was an awareness, everyone became aware of, people around you they are you realise there are some people who can afford some people cannot afford for education to be working from I mean doing the home-based learning we had this phase


not a lot of them had, the IT gadgets they did not have laptop some laptop were loaned some didn't really had any and they still had to go to school to continue their education, if I need to educate when my job about my job to my kid ten years later my job may not exist


so the young must be adaptable to change, uh like I think because of COVID recently you have even an online uh concert the play SRT online we had zoom and more virtual development


and new jobs are created system security analysts uh we have a swabber now a non healthcare professional can just go for a training and then can just perform the swab test, for the patients


so education gives us knowledge yes insights, guides us, but we all follow we in our times we all follow a standard path primary one, to primary six PSLE O level A level university, it all the way has been a knowledge-based economy it doesn't teach us business sense


I mean, currently look at youtubers there's a lot of kids now wants to be a youtuber there's a common one ryan that's earning money in based on what not education he's just uh buying toys and then you know showing the world how the toy works


so all the kids are into this learning it's holistic approach and resilient where things change at times of crisis so we have to move accordingly to the crisis, uh a lot of people have uh a lot of jobs have been displaced at this point and our norm of life is no longer normal I mean we all have to be you can forget your phone but you cannot forget your mask so you need the open space for talent


and to work their, and they have to the to to to find a job so that they can be in the uh community


and yes you are right on the fact that okay there's emotional quotient we have a globalised world more MNCs you need to understand people accept different cultures be more uh culture, uh approaching to everyone acquired but this is only acquired through interactions so we have to be in the uh VUCA world volatile


uncertain complex and ambiguous this generous curiosity among the young people to look up history to look up behind us find out why things happen the way it happened today the young want to know why about every single thing, so look at the recent political debate between uh jamus Lim and vivian Balakrishnan I mean there was a statement uh a meme uh warms the warms the cockles of my heart by jamus lim so with that kind of debate the young are more encouraged


to go into politic keen to learn or keen to see what's happening in the world, so over to you Sapna anything


ya, uh, yes true uh, wait ah


actually my recorder has stopped, the Appen Appen Appen the app one


ten minutes, ya this one noticed ten minutes, too busy , ya , no I mean as we continue our debate


no no no, yes


mine is ten minutes thirty-nine, ya also ten point zero zero but thirty-nine, to because we tap ya, so what do we do ah okay


that's the second topic, yup can can, yes wait, yes yes thirty four thirty four minutes fifteen seconds


okay ya okay, no no uh sorry okay anyways I, okay you are right uh I I know where you stop I know you are right we need a formal education correct


but, it is okay education is still the best social leveller, but there is a broader definition of meritocracy this talent goes beyond just grades so this is said by our, minister ex-minister education minister Ong-Ye-Kung he did mention during the NUS forum that yes education is required but then you need to be more


broad you need to have more activities coming up uh students should not be just, based on education or follow the path that we used to follow we follow just a normal primary one to six and so on, but then now you see what's happening no more exams for primary one two and three no more streaming so but this this keeps students going yes PSLE is required but then they're band they are giving uh you know band the students at a certain subject level they are not really giving a grading or you know marks


ya correct


top yup


I mean ya


uh okay at yes formal education is required that is mandatory but then what I'm trying to say you should be encouraged or you know give the students options of skills, uh like you see now even the government they are giving skills future credits to of all age of people of all age of singaporeans so this is this indicates that you know you need to be having skills so you can just have a certificate and you can still find a work


yes that's true ya that's what I'm trying to say also


uh, ya correct


yes that's true and a (uh huh), ya that's what


ya that's why I didn't deny that I said yes I agree, yeah I agree education is important but then I mean like to what extent does it so with that basic of formal education, after that we should be constantly being uh we should constantly upgrade ourselves with whatever skills I mean doesn't mean example say I'm working in a healthcare I have to be doing any skill all related to to healthcare because in times of crisis you see there are even


high ranking officers expats directors, they're doing even uh the smallest menial jobs, you know they were earning big bucks but then right now they are you know earning small I mean doing a small jobs so no job is small so that is like with a skill they got a driving licence they can do a rider's job


so we just have to be like you know uh making decisions based on the emerging trends technology and yes constantly upgrading ourselves but also with skills apart from education


you get what I mean


ya life experiences, teaches us more than education, yes correct


ya this uh, , no because you see when you have uh like what you mentioned the life term uh experiences when we have huge crisis like we had SARS I mean okay before that ebola then we had SARS then with SARS the government is better prepared so that's why with that better preparation they were able to


help, or try to curb this current situation that we are in currently the crisis that we are facing but this is life experiences that teach you not education


yes, correct


for the ya for the next correct


(hmm), we learn something from the pandemic I mean like look today itself this morning were uh were you guys like you know we had another news uh Beirut uh the bomb explosion that just happened at lebanon uh yesterday


so with that then you know we have visuals you you see what's happening in the world so with the life experiences and then people's feedback how they feel even during the olden times like the japanese world war uh japanese


POW and even the world war time or civil wars people share their life experiences at the end of the day what they do how they overcome this, yes it is but then ah is not really preparing us because ya I agree but this doesn't really prepare the young do you see the young are just becoming okay I need to study study study they are just memorising the history they're not understanding why this


happened why, a happened why b didn't happen, so they have more they they are forming more opinions they are you know, uh questioning questioning why was this done this way why not that way


debate topic two


okay, I disagree okay so I oppose your point firstly the question is uh already itself very, complex in this twenty-first century complex and highly dynamic sophisticated would be more


to uh, well it means more complex and more challenging with technological developments it tries to bring the world closer overload of new information may lead to information paralysis, so, I will say yes it does serve a lot of purpose books still have their relevance how okay to some may argue that books are redundant because they're outdated yes but there's always a version one version two they always have uh first edition second edition they update timely


so one should not totally dismiss books as they are still valued in the, printed, information information could be outdated as context changes but there is still value for students to learn from the past context and try to apply to present context this point I will say that in even in schools now you still have a subject call history


and then history is what is based on all the old uh information past information that we all just uh reading from the book and it's just the latest or updated version, some books are always classic you have a classic like investment books such as the benjamin graham the intelligent investor even now professional investors still refer to as the holy grail they will still refer to that book


although it's been uh written ages ago learning from books still have relevance even if the internet and trading platforms can educate us on investment theories because certain uh rules still apply up to today, books is one of the cheapest educational tool this is very important with a high cost of living high standard of living money comes in


a big factor too many because there's poor gets poorer rich gets richer so not everybody is able to afford so is still highly valued, they are uh not everyone is able to afford a technological learning tool even with the government subsidies


so also not every student has a preference of using a notebook for learning like even me I mean I'm in the nineteen-eighties but I still prefer writing, uh down penning down or writing on my appointment calendar and on instead of using the handphone


okay so with this recently because of COVID so home-based learning starting, so the, the people who couldn't afford they could not afford a laptop not everyone so there was I mean you laptops were on loan


uh everyone had to try and get a laptop or share a laptop if they can in a house if you have three kids four kids with one laptop is definitely not enough especially with the timings of the levels clash, so I will say books yes still have relevance and to prove that I mean we still have an existing library there's so many libraries not just one you have fiction book and non-fiction book you have documentaries


and with ya uh, you still can get this all easily accessible and reading okay the, one point where you mentioned that now everyone is using computer they prefer IT they prefer ipad kindle


okay where did this come from the, from the books the information came and they were converted to IT so, the, first step is always the books books came in first they are utilised they're uh they're just digitalise later, uh you have QR codes I mean I can embed QR codes and uh to to link to youtube videos you still need books


you have supplementary learning ideally they are the platforms, uh, parts of the world and other parts of the world they are still using books, for learning so no books have not lost their relevance using it helps to make lessons more engaging eh using IT helps to make lessons more engaging and innovative it helps with learning yes


but, this helps to also cater to students uh okay this doesn't have to cater to all students with learning disability yes you are right about those with dyslexia or ADHD what about the blind how are they going to see the visuals of you know read from my ipad kindle


over to you , too many info


yes so I didn't deny that uh I did say


yes true that's why I agree I agree to that part


ya so I didn't say it's very expensive I just said book is one of the cheapest ones too you see books still have a place for young children who may lack the discipline a lot of young children they are not uh I mean they go online, uh they use the, technological devices for learning but if you do not keep an eye on them they are actually uh you know uh


seeing other things or you know you have to ensure that the certain apps are locked away so that they will not uh procrastinate from learning because you know when you have electronic gadgets they have a video then they suddenly will just go and do whatever they want or, serve serve the net


so we have to be careful with the technological advancements so with books is easy okay go and read a book, and uh we have this uh Morley library the Morley library does storytelling for children even up to date


so I will say books still have relevance


but whether are they very accurate or not you know whether are these cited properly because you do not okay you have like you know wikipedia so not all the information are true you have to ensure you have served the correct uh internet uh means serve the correct uh link or open up the correct link


to ensure that your it's true, uh they usually would


I, I mean well they have been edited edited by you know editors there's a year and there's a publishing if these are not approved the books will not go for publishing correct


, ya


yes they are but like, (uh huh)


ya true but then when it comes to children you have to ensure that these certain things are are you know they are locked away or they ensure that under parental guidance you have to ensure they are surfing the correct, tool or because err recently just uh when they started that home based learning your SLS uh someone managed to upload


I mean not nice uh stuff, so uh there was a moment I think sorry not SLS zoom so for a moment zoom was stopped for a while teachers could not you zoom they had to source for another tool, uh to to, to to teach their children so you know people can still post and then uh something on zoom


then you have to ensure


yes, uh yeah of course true I agree because I mean the fastest you'll go for the fastest uh fingers so your phone is always the nearest to you but like you know, in certain, context from past context books still hold a values because from past context like history you have uh you can apply it in the present context


so I I mean I will still debate I mean uh I mean oppose that I mean ya books still have their relevance despite the technology technology helps and enhance with the it's it's more engaging innovative learning yes but without the books I mean it is very important we learn from there we have libraries


where we can always refer to


debate topic three


okay, uh (uh huh)


okay so I will, oppose the question is education the most powerful tool, no it is not to make uh to make the world a better place


uh okay lesson of teaching can be taught in many many, different ways you have from art you can use art music different forms of teaching is there instead of just education


yes mandela uh nelson mandela, he did mention that yes it's one of the most powerful weapon you can use to change the world but it it's it is a powerful tool but it's on individual on how they want to use that uh how how they want to use that tool to make it better for themselves or for the world


okay you see education okay by uh earlier I mentioned about our ex education minister, Ong mister


Ong-Ye-Kung if he he he was already tweaking he already mentioned MOE is tweaking the system from ending streaming to giving the lower low income better access to, early learning, he has also mentioned that there needs to be a broader definition of meritocracy as well as the recognition that talent goes beyond just grades uh now we don't have streaming now primary one to primary three no exams


so this is in it this does indicates yes education is there but then you do not need a grading system for it now, okay like I mentioned I uh I want to point out to the other areas like arts


arts and music we have a famous artist, vincent van gogh uh, he used uh I mean he is always doing lots of painting one of the famous ones during his final deaths he did one last painting wheat field with crows okay with paintings he has mentioned that I put my heart and my soul into my work


and have lost my mind in the process, so this indicates this raise awareness of, mental health, with education, yes you do progress you climb up the ladders of success but then if your mind is not in the process I mean if your mind is not with you then you will take drastic measures we have uh I mean with this crisis that we just face


uh a lot of people, have been suffering from mental health it has raised awareness that has uh mental health has increased, and uh some, people have taken drastic measures also but then this just indicates that education is


not the only important tool is how you utilise it, and even for your own self what do you do, what are you going to do your lives your your life, your lifestyle, okay uh we have


uh yeah so back to the artist uh he has he has approached the end of, his life and then he did, mentioned that you know increasing toll on his daily activities he was nevertheless his most productive


he entered a period of extreme fruitfulness during his final sixty days on earth with paintings a lot of artists have shown that you know the world I mean uh they are shown how the world is a lot of disasters


chaos around us, uh the politics of social issues, with you have another phase where you have music, okay in music I mean okay we all know michael jackson so michael jackson has sang a song about you know think of the generation and say we want to make it a better place for our children who does not want that so we need to make a better place


but, there are other ways to do it you need to care enough for the living make little space care about the people around you, uh you have to show you know you have to be resilient you have to be, more careful of your choice of words to what the other person is saying maybe the other person may be facing worse than you


so uh michael jackson did sang one chorus heal the world make it a better place for you and for me and the entire human race there are people dying if you care enough for the living make a better place for you and for me


so I will say that yes uh education is not the only important tool,


correct, humanity (hmm)


ya so music has always been there right music has been there since the eighties


uh, uh yes they do but there's a different form of education so you're not just going through, uh okay studying, english maths science uh I mean the subject wise ya you know you have a you are expressing arts arts helps to


express music helps to express you'll get to see visuals with visuals when you see when you see all the posters you've seen the drought the famine or whatever is happening say example in ethiopia uh one point two million people are dead homeless so all these are visuals so it's just not through


education there are other ways through media you media is the one bringing live images of starving children then only we take a step oh okay come let's donate to this group, oh let's donate to the other group so now with that uh Beirut explosion now people uh quite a number of people will be focusing to donate so humanity comes in but this is caused of this has brought on by media so media is the one bringing up !hey! guys you know in another country this is happening


using IT


creating the awareness, yeah


ya correct but with that, (uh huh) uh, education is a powerful too but it does not help to make the world a better place you had the media is the one that is uh bringing everything together you have this music industry that will come together and then uh have


fundraisings for for for such causes, you know so you will you will listen to music to calm yourself down, (mmhmm)


I mean basically we all need to have this humanitarian uh being more uh had being more err having humanity to people, because uh like what you mentioned you mentioned about finland the quality of life cost of living I mean they're one of the happiest countries you have bhutan also they are having uh they're one of the happiest countries


finny finny uh finnish okay


ya that's true, but then ah


so, okay so that's why I'm saying like education is not that important one because you need you need to have a good I mean you have you need to have a quality of life what's our quality of life just to study climb up the ladder success have money that's it where's your humanity, you uh how do you know about humanity oh when I mean when some crisis happens then like you have uh other countries measuring happiness index based on


other other growth factors uh yup their GDP and success, ya but a better, place can only be in some it's a world with no, uh okay


part one debate topic one, uh wait ah hold on I wrote my points I need to find it , uh


okay, okay, Ismail you're starting


okay uh, so firstly I would say that, , advertisements do affect consumer choice because if you didn't US companies would not invest, seventy billion dollars


, in the TV ad market so, so companies expect advertising to produce returns just like any other investment if not why would they invest such a big amount, to advertisements right so, many people think that advertising doesn't work


is because that, they're trying to make them do make the consumers do something immediately but that's not, true, so successful advertising rarely succeeds through argument or cause to action, instead it creates positive memories and feelings that influence our behaviors, over time and encourage us to buy something at a later date


so, everyone no one likes to think that we are easily influenced you and me, too, so there's like a lot of evidence that suggest that, uh we respond negatively to like naked attempts at persuasions


so, although some advertisements may not affect consumer choice, they will always stay in the mind of the, the, consumer and you know it's always at the back of the mind because the consumer has always , the consumer has been


looking and seeing at the advertisements, that were created by the company yeah, yeah so


I would say that advertisements are meant to be entertaining as well so that's how they get the attention of, people, so this would mean that uh they need elements to attract the attention of the targeted audience and, if the advertisements were not meant to affect consumer choice that will make advertisements completely redundant


and and there wouldn't be a need to you know have advertisements in the first place yeah


uh oh, sorry okay


uh and I you mentioned that, uh nowadays people are going to like Carousell and, other means like Shopee for example they're going to other platforms to do their research on, , products that they can buy right, but


how do these uh applications get to, the consumers top of, mind, is through advertising as well, and if these platform if these platforms didn't advertise themselves nobody would knew nobody would know about the existence of them and they would be


still shopping you know in retail because nobody, because, through the use of advertisements, people get to know about uh such platforms, so, in your case I guess you're saying that advertisements , they don't work for products but uh in reality


for, people to get to know about these platforms advertisements is necessary so, uh to push the platform I mean, for people to buy products people need to know about the platform so at the end of the day advertisements uh they do affect consumer choice because


consumers are choosing what type of platform they will want to, uh choose to purchase their product, and ya at the end of your, , your conversation you were saying that


okay, at the end of the conversation you were saying that, influencers and athletes when they use products they actually, , they actually convince people to, buy and use the products as well and I think that


, that is very true and it actually supports my point of saying that, advertisements affect consumer choice and if it wasn't a true fact, I, I would say that you know influencers they won't have a make way to make money when in reality now maybe if you just search up


someone with, barely like fifteen k followers, let's say, and they already can start charging like, I don't know one k per post, so it's, the reason why they can charge so expensive for these advertisements is because they do affect consumer choice and they do put the product in the consumers


mind yeah


of course advertisements are biased and point to, how the product works and, the functionalities of the product, but nowadays influencers are moving forward and they only they are aware and they know that, they do what they do not want to uh lie to their following that has been supporting them and that has been that has put their


that has put themselves in the situation where they can actually be an influencer, so they don't, they don't want to lie to their customers I mean they don't want to lie to their followers and therefore they only review, I've watched many influencers and they always state at the start of the video that you know although I'm sponsored by this company


I've actually been using this, product , way before I got sponsored so it's a dream that they're sponsoring me or something like I would not, you know uh advertise this product to you guys if I didn't actually like it myself so how can you say that influencers are


just because they're paid and just because they're sponsored to do something, how can you say that it's fake, when these influencers are there, and they don't want to lie to their big audience, that has put them into their situation


yeah but, uh those are not uh advertisements those are reviews so you're countering your own point


okay, you know the part where you said that uh, they leave like paid reviews under the, product right, yeah but normally uh how e-commerce works is that you have to, buy the product first, and then you leave a review on how your experience was


so how is it that they're buying the product but then they're paid to leave a review so how, how does that work, but that's how it works on e-commerce website


oh I've never heard of that before, because usually on e-commerce websites, you'll only be able to review a product when you've purchased it from that seller, that seller, so let's say you bought the same I mean two sellers are buying the same product you can't leave


a review on the other person, uh, selling page because you didn't purchase from, them, so I mean companies and e-commerce websites are, are making this happen because they don't want the reliability of the product to be disrupted, as well, so I would say reviews are


reviews are okay , so I would say reviews are, uh quite, consistent in a way that in the sense that it's a different for advertisements where it's not biased


but I think it's wrong for you to say that, uh, I mean reviews are actually paid


part two debate topic two


okay so the burst of the internet today is like, largely over visual, excitement such as blogs and facebook pages bursting it's like, many photographs and video sharing web, sites like youtube rather than you know text-based stuff


so it would appear that the old saying, a picture paints a thousand words is more strongly accepted, than ever in the twenty first century, however I feel that a picture is certainly not always more powerful than words, because the power of words are always


keenly felt in the world today and is often much more potent, than any other picture, or any moving pictures such, as movies and films, so hence uh that's why I feel like a picture is not always more powerful, than words, so like even in the world right now overcrowded by pictures and videos because of the digital evolution


many of the world's most popular products today remain, based so, some of the examples of that are best selling novels like harry potter, series which has sold more than four hundred million copies, and it has been translated into sixty three languages and


you know personal improvement books such as this book called, for by jack welch it's called winning it has sold, more than two thousand two million copies so, I think it will be quite difficult to think that any photo compilations


any, book, photo compilations have sold more than a, million copies and ya


okay so, ya I do agree that pictures uh evoke emotion, but I would say that words uh evoke more emotion as you know there's always, like so many quotes saying a careless word may kindle strife a cruel word may wreckle a wreck a life


a timely word may lessen stress a loving word may heal and, bless, so of course you know the way you, the way you use your words the way you phrase them has always uh, special touch, on how you impact others and that cannot be done by pictures


like, of course maybe you can take a picture of, you hugging someone, but, you actually saying , you actually expressing your love towards, and, you know the way you express yourself to the other person will actually, make the other person feel more special than just viewing a picture of


, a memory you get what I mean, yeah so that's why I feel that yes uh images uh do, you know evoke certain emotion but I feel like words are, more uh


powerful in this case


okay okay so uh I okay, so like you we've been talking about pictures so far so let's talk about, movies, so like movies and films are marketable as well and, attract millions of viewers but uh


uh it should be noted that you know movies and films they, contain words as well as pictures but, films owe the impact to, both, but few people today would you know watch a silent, movie no one, wants to watch a silent movie when nobody is speaking, and what makes things entertaining is when people


you know talk and say jokes and you know comedy, romance and stuff this kind of things cannot be just depicted through, video or pictures, so, you need words to express all these kind of things and words are what capture people and what keep


keeps them interested in what's happening in uh movies


bigger picture of


okay but let's say like, pictures can be staged as well so how do you compare that like, let's say, I want to make it seem, like as though uh, I want to make it seem like as though let's just say my brother


ate all the food so I can just, take a picture of him sitting in the kitchen with, everything , like all the food that is gone I can just take a picture of that and people will believe that, my brother actually ate all the food when in reality I could have eaten the food


and since your points states that people are more likely to believe pictures than over words, does that doesn't that mean that , you know people are actually believing uh, false and fake story without actually knowing what actually happened in reality because you know


pictures can be staged, yeah but that's not what actually happened so how do you combat, that, because you need words to talk about how that picture was staged


sorry I didn't get that point !huh! oh no okay


okay hi yeah yeah it cut off, okay


okay but sometimes, pictures tend to be limited in depth like how much they can, expressed in a picture itself so this uh like usually means like uh, you know it doesn't really evoke the full emotion of what


the people or the situation is, and with words you can actually deeply explain and, elaborate on what, and explain elaborate and explain on what was actually happening, so let's just take like, just you took the black lives matter, movement as an example


just now so let's just use that as an, example so, you said that pictures, , actually show what went wrong, right, but without the words without without the words without the, without the black lives matter let's just take that


without that people wouldn't feel like a sense of belonging people wouldn't feel like they're part of something they're doing this for a cause if they just see a picture and then they're saying like okay let's, do it based on this picture but then they're not saying based on, a, you know like a quote so quotes actually evoke more


emotion in people and they you know they sit by people, more deeply, in a sense that they are fighting for something, instead of just looking at the picture and saying okay that's sad, but, now I have a cause to fight for because words, we put it into words we put the cause into words and now people know what


what they are fighting for, yeah so


okay but uh let's say we're talking about a product and its functionalities like for example a shampoo right, how do you explain that, the shampoo prevents hair loss with


part three debate topic three


so I would say that advertising encourages people to, make the right choices when, purchasing things that are, you know essential and, necessary to use in their daily lives, so advertising plays a part in, helping everyday consumers like me and you


to compare, and weigh the quality of a product, in terms of the price reliability and, you know the functionality of it, and the features of it and so on, so without advertising the product people, consumers would be


it will be very difficult for consumers, to, you know judge the worthiness or the, it the, functionality of a product, and for example, instead of sticking to a brand which may not offer the best option


advertisements also provide us, with , provides consumers with an opportunity to you know look, look at other products that, that may suit them better, so, even though but it's different in terms of branding


so like most of us know that you know there's a good face wash, however there's this, specific brand that's a good wash okay that's, let's say that, so but however someone may not know that there's a better brand for their, for their type of skin so through advertisements


people actually learn more about themselves and what products actually suit them, better, so let's just say someone is using, uh face wash and they have dry skin but they're using something for, you know oily skin, and you know through through advertisements


people actually learn like !hey! actually I have oily skin, so I need to buy uh oily skin face product to suit me better, ya, so without the power of advertising consumers may not know, the most suitable product for oneself and may end up


spending money, on the wrong products that will eventually, make their whole experience a whole lot worse with the, product


but isn't that good especially when you want, to, experience the you don't want to live life at the bare minimum, you want to live when when you have the best products that actually you know people invent products to make life easier so why would you settle when you can actually make your life easier by purchasing a better product that can that is


advertised properly I mean you may not need it but it will make your life easier so why would you, uh choose the bare minimum minimum product when you can make your life easier, by purchasing another one


think you hang again oh you you hanged a bit okay


okay okay so now let's talk about like, other stuff like for example SPF okay, you don't you don't like, you don't think that you need it but through advertisements you learn advertisements actually educate people on what they actually need and will help them benefit them in the long term


so let's use SPF an as an example, many people don't know that SPF actually will help you, many people don't know the SPF will actually help you in the long run, and it will save your skin and it won't damage your skin and stuff, but


nobody I mean they don't nowadays because, you know it's not it's not, information that is easy to obtain, but, through through advertisements it actually educates people on, the fact that they need this product, and


you know because of because of the fact that there's an advertisement about it people learn and they feel like !hey! actually I might need that and then they go ahead and buy, the product so yeah


okay but, I feel like advertising has it's own good in some ways like it helps people in their basic needs, like, for example it doesn't necessarily mean that because a product is being advertised, the


the product is actually more expensive it may be of the same price and it offers, , more functionalities more features as well, so why do you say that, uh advertising encourages a desire for products which people do not actually need, but, you are involving the the price of the products when that's not actual


like you don't have to people products that are advertised, and products that are not advertised they are all around the same range as, well, and sometimes you may see that, you know two shoes, okay you let's just take two shoes, they are the same price range but one feature one shoe has a has better features


so that company they advertise their, products so they are just letting their consumers, and the audience know that their product has all of this, which is not involved which doesn't have, which, the other product doesn't and they are of the same price range so it doesn't make sense when you say that


oh okay maybe for the gucci shoe it does but let's just take like a middle tier like for example nike, two nike and adidas one shoe is better than the other because it has better features, but it's around the same price range, so I feel like advertisements actually, give


the people a chance to educate themselves before knowing what products they're actually going to buy and they are uh used to, you know way like okay !hey! this nike shoe is better than the adidas shoe and they are the same price range so why don't I go for the nike shoe instead, and if you don't have advertisements that actually prove


that actually show that, the this nike shoe has these functions and this adidas shoe has these functions, people will not be educated and they would, go for the adidas shoe when they can actually get a better, choice by going for the nike one better deal


but, but again you're neglecting the point of, my, saying that you are keep you keep bringing in price in the picture, like I said, what if two products same price range, one product does advertising and their features are better


obviously the people will go for that, why do you keep bringing in price range


yeah so advertising is simply educating someone it's not making them think that, uh I want this and that's why it's not what I need but I want it, it's educating people on what they can get at that certain price range and, so the people go and get it it's just educating people on what the product offer


okay but, do do you think that advertisements also bring up the hidden needs of people, like people may not, people may think that they need two products to fulfil this, specific thing but, advertisements actually tell you that


here you can get both of these things you can fulfil both of these features just in one, product, so it actually brings out the hidden needs of what


okay so ritty is starting ritty is starting for proposition right yeah okay ah part one debate topic one, okay


, okay ya okay so basically I feel that, ah ah, for the first prompt I feel that advertisements like they actually rarely affect consumer choice because


from my experience I feel that, I can find better, products, from what is being advertised online and it has been like, mostly has been that case, since now advertisements are also like they exaggerate a lot


not needed ah the products that are often advertised they're, often, way beyond my budget and usually consumer choices most of them they're looking for, lower budget products but then some of these lower ah budget ah products they perform better than those that are advertised


so I feel that this is from my experience what I feel about advertised products and not with it, ah do ah consumers such as myself, we have experience, how, people lie during their advertisements so


I feel that uh, even though advertisements are often entertaining and they, tell you ah tell you about the benefits of the product, but, they are not entirely, true, and they don't benefit as much as they used to last time


so yeah and even now it's like twenty twenty so, everyone is actually like aware of all these things, and yeah, they know what products to buy now and not listen to, advertisements, so this is why or it leads to


to, like not even affecting their choices when it comes to selecting products which are advertised and products that are not advertised, so yeah


okay


okay yeah so ah it's, my turn right ya okay so, I feel that, even though like they spend billions ah, I don't think it's effective because nowadays ah advertisements are not


actually viewed as how they are used to be, last time advertisement used the previous times advertisement used to be, look at as somewhere where you want if you want find product you can just look it up at their advertisements and you see the advertisement the newspaper on your television you're immediately go and purchase it


but then now it's not the, it's not the norm anymore as, ah, people do find there are other, areas such as like Carousell or online shopping which they do not advertise but then they still like earn quite a few money


ah not only that ah, advertisements are not viewed as, for fruit for products searching but then they're good as like entertainment like pure entertainment, so, this why I feel that they don't affect, consumer, choice as much as they used to


in the past there weren't ah any smartphones or anything so people wouldn't know where to go, find like, the products they actually desire, so I feel that nowadays with the development and, ah, the development of technology like advertisements are now


they don't affect consumer choice, choices any more and, they're a waste of money, yeah and advertisements are also, found like found annoying also cause you could be paying ah consumers


be during their activities or anything like gaming, and there are advertisements online they will just there are pop up advertisements, so this type of advertisements they create a bad impression, on the viewers cause ah, they just want to do their activity but then these pop up ads keep coming and coming


and they keep popping up so I feel that, those people that actually, ah, view these pop up ads they, feel irritated by it and, and, they're actually wasting their money for advertising and doing pop up ads cause it doesn't create a good impression unless there's like one in like


a few people that, actually find it like productive and like, they actually want the product but, in, twenty thirty twenty twenty it's not the case any more, as people can look it up look out, look, for whatever product they want up online through their smartphone


or their computer so, yes, I feel that advertisements are, they don't actually affect, consumer choice at all ah not or is it return net profit so but then ah


even though like even if there is like a choice ah it cost really expensive for advertisements cause, advertisements usually when like for example there's beats by dre they make all those, ah, top paid athlete and pay them a lot of money


to get ah to get these advertisements, but without, only those occasions to like, ah these advertisements actually affect consumer choice, cause you see their favourite athlete using it but then other than that


like, I really don't feel that they do affect consumer choice, so yeah


yeah


okay so, yes I was talking about the athletes but then I feel that they, like it's very rare that, it actually like people listen to their advice cause obviously athletes they are very popular


so it's uh the product they're going to advertise it has to be reliable and it cannot be deceptive, but then even though there there are those type of advertisements like, they those type of advertisement they will receive backlash from cheap advertisements such as products that they advertise online but then they can be deceptive


and they those type of advertisements like, they create unrealistic expectations from the for the consumers, so in the past like, uh consumers that actually like bought all these products, and then they will experiment with them but then when they realize that they played pay quite a lot of money for this type of products


and they do not actually like, get what they want like what they expect, uh, nowadays there are reviews to write down so like, advertisements do not make such effect cause, there's a difference between like the reality that the advertisements like post so like they will put like


all these uh product it's like it does this hundred percent safe and everything but then nowadays there are reviews reviews are more reliable than advertisements, so people want to know the, real to know the real opinion of the product not uh, fantasy or anything about the product so


I feel that uh, people who are like really really educated and they really want a good product, they don't look at advertisements any any more unless they've experienced the product before and they've experimented with it and they feel that it's reliable


I don't feel that, advertisements uh, they actually affect consumer choice, so yeah I feel that reviews are more reliable than advertisements, and, ya even with reviews nowadays uh they are also sort of considered advertisements cause some of them are paid to review some stuff and they do not leave like


they only leave positive comments and they do not leave out they do not say about the negative, things about the product so, I feel that, advertisements like they do affect but they do not don't, affect as much as they used to in the past


so, I feel that this uh from my experience what I know about know know about it, because I have like bought basketball shoes, online before I bought from, brands such as peak and


even though they advertise like in the past they used to advertise like they're pretty good brand and they are quite popular, but nowadays people don't buy, the from the uh, peak brand because they've experimented with the product and they feel that it isn't as


comfortable even though it's advertised greatly, and, and is being worn by professional athletes such as like, basketball players such as uh terrence romeo and all, but then I still feel that because of the reviews people are like actually


they feel better about the product, only if they see the reviews not the advertisements, cause the advertisements are, totally not reliable at all nowadays and, ya, I feel that this is my experience what I think about all these advertisements that they are just like


fake or in the circumstance that they are true it's very very rare


I feel that, peak you used as in not the, not the most like, influential people I'm talking about those than leave comments under products, so like some some of these people they will leave five stars and reviews under product but then in reality they're not using the product they're just being paid to leave the reviews under there


so I feel that, yes but then technically these reviews are like advertisements also cause they try to advertise the product through those reviews, they're trying to advertise the product because they are being


paid advertisements are paid, like you're being paid to market the, the product so technically in the reviews they're being paid to market the, rock through the reviews section, so I feel that like uh


these like advertisements like, I've, highly influential people they are they have to, tell like the , reality about the product cause if they if they don't, it will affect their credibility so I feel that that's one of the few as I mentioned previously like one of the few cases where the products actually like perform like how they actually do it uh when they're being advertised but then


other than that I feel that, other than those rare occasions I feel that, they actually do not actually uphold to their standard and these, because of these bad experiences, the consumers face they


rarely like trust advertisements nowadays and, they are skipped there's a reason there's like skip ads on advertisement nowadays because they really don't want to see this ads and, there are surveys to tell that nineteen like almost like more than fifty percent of people that view


on platforms such as youtube or instagram they they see these advertisements but then, most of them they do not actually like click on it and are interested in these products they're just like there for pure entertainment, and most of them just press the skip and straight away go to the content


so I, ya this is what I feel even though there are it effects consumer choice but it's, it's like really like a needle in a haystack cause it's very very like, rare that, consumers actually look out for the product


so yeah, yeah


I mean like you don't necessarily need to buy a product to leave a review, like there are, there are reviews such as like, you can review some products without even buying from the products


part two debate topic two, okay so uh, I really do feel that a picture is always more powerful than my words cause


a picture already describe describes words that like that cannot be said, for example like, you can show a picture of, a picture is uh it shows reality than words for words we have to


keep using a lot of words to talk about the picture but the minute you show someone a picture you can evoke, like like like how to say, like what they really feel about the picture, so a picture is, actually


uh very powerful, for example you can show a picture of poverty, but then when you want to explain poverty to someone they won't actually believe, they will be like !aiya! what uh, uh, if they're poor why don't they go get a job at McDonald's or why did they go job


uh why don't they go get a job from somewhere, but then when you show a picture of people like actually that are, poor and homeless and, the the conditions the conditions of the country they will realise that, actually oh my god like it's actually very very bad and it's not


good to say those type of things so I feel that, pictures they show more than what's actually actually meets the eye and, words cannot describe whatever that is the picture, it can only be seen and felt


so ya, that's what I feel about a uh why picture is more powerful than words


so yeah I, feel that even though you said that words are like actually like, quite prevalent are quite prevalent uh, the like scientifically the human brain can process like images like sixty thousand times faster than words


and pictures have the ability to convey like, things such as like facial expressions and, like show emotion which words cannot, words you can say like oh you're sad or something but then when you look at the person in real life


they can be more than sad so ya I feel that you like words, they describe, like what is happening in the picture but then a picture , it actually brings out much more, than what's being described over there


and, on pictures they also sort of, they are able to capture emotions that words cannot, so like no matter like how, hard you try to use words to describe something a picture can just do it with one a one snap of a picture can


uh, show how the person feel, than uh, like words so like can you can type like you can say about a hundred word hundred words about what the person is feeling but then the minute you show one snap of uh one snap of the person, immediately like


you really know what's going on, not only that uh, images are more powerful than words nowadays cause, like for example the the, situation in america right now like, the black lives matter movement uh


people don't understand why is the N word uh, so bad like why is it, not good like, it's not a nice word to use at all why they shouldn't use the word at all, but then you no matter how hard you describe the words like people don't uh people that use the word they don't get it but then the minute you show a picture of what happened in the past what they have went through


you realize that the picture, you you, know like what you can see from the picture the pain that had the black people had they had to go through and what they, have been still going through through these pictures and you can see these pictures online and


you can tell like for example for instagram you post one picture, and people react react to the picture than the caption, because the picture uh captures most of the attention than the caption, which is the words lah ya the words so


ya I feel that a picture is always more powerful, and it has been it had always has been more powerful from the past up till now, so and this is my view on, why pictures are more powerful than words and


you can say that words are actually like quite powerful, because like, being able to talk to someone verbally instead of resorting to any physical action it's considered powerful, but then the take taking a picture of a person using verbal words instead of resorting to physical uh


uh, uh instead of resorting to physicality it, it shows uh, depict depicts a thousand words they cannot be said, so ya, this is what I feel about


uh picture and why I have a strong stance about why pictures are always more powerful than words, so ya okay


test


uh, yes uh picture uh sometimes words like, they, you can take a picture but words like they actually show what you are but then, when you show a picture a picture is like timeless you can say a word then but then you can change it now but then when you show a picture you can't change a picture


like for example I am working on like elderlies for my projects and, my like those uh experts in like like seniority like they help these elderlies they


actually preferred showing pictures instead of like talking to them, because, when you show them an old picture it'll brings back memories that cannot be like said like can show them a picture of their past or like show them a picture of their family in the back way back then and it actually makes them feel like emotional but then when you when you talk to them about their family


it doesn't like, interest them as much as the picture does, cause, pictures are more, not only that pictures are more reliable than words, you can say that uh pictures can be photo-shopped or


anything but words can be twisted, too, and even like, like pictures they can lose their, credibility for words when you twist the words it does more damage than, like a photo-shopped picture


because uh nowadays like pictures they, there are ways to test their credibility and, how to say like, if they're real or fake but then when you're talking to someone with words, you can't test their credibility on the spot or anything


so uh, I feel that pictures, they actually like, they are more easy to be trusted than words, uh pictures they are more easy ya easily to be trusted than words and


ya, not the pictures uh, they capture things that words cannot be said about the moments, and, words uh pictures are, therefore like more powerful than words


so yeah


okay but then uh even though that there is like movies like no one listen to silent movies like actually that is wrong cause last time in the past like, there are there were like, people who uh whom are like, impaired hearing impaired


they still watch like charlie chaplin and all those movies in the past like mister bean and they evoke like, emotions such as like joy, cause even though they can't experience, like hearing the words, they can tell from the picture and pictures can like


uh how to say, help them uh ya it it helps them like, create a scene and like it create uh helps give them, joy cause they able to see what's happening and they can laugh about it this can be said from like all those charlie chaplin mister bean


like movies that hearing impaired actually watch but then like, if you take off the take out the picture and you only use words, it does sort of there are people that actually like, listen to this you can say like radios and everything but then


they do not get the bigger picture, so I feel that uh like, you can hear about something you can talk about romance or everything, but then in real life like, you have to see you meant you have to see like uh


how it makes things what makes things romantic like you can take a picture of them being in the movement, like being romantic and it shows a lot than like saying like words


yes uh, yes uh it proves my point all the more cause it shows that the picture is always more powerful than words cause, in this, like


ya but then in this, uh like, debate we are talking about how it's more powerful but what is not right or wrong how is it more powerful, you see so like, yeah what you were saying is you can take a picture uh of your brother with having all the food and you can tell that it's more powerful than words cause no matter how much he tries to deny it


the picture it it eventually like it overpower cause more powerful than, like his words so I feel that, with your point there you're actually supporting me uh supporting my statement that a picture is more powerful than words and


like, you no matter how much you like, you can stage a picture, but then even when you try to use words to like defy what happened in the picture, uh it isn't going to change much because people, believe what they see but not what they hear


they tend to believe what they see more than what they hear so I feel that, even though it a picture may a picture may, even though a picture may give it the like the wrong uh wrong thing or give the wrong impression


a, a picture is eventually going to be more powerful than words you can catch a uh you can take a picture of someone, with a guy and like someone in an relationship and then talking or having intimate moments and just nice you capture one of those intimate moments


and post it as as though the person is cheating, but then when they're not, but then the pictures is is more powerful people will believe that the person is cheating, so like uh for example you can take a picture of someone


who is in a relationship but they spend


hello, uh hello can you all hear me or, uh hello, [orh] [orh] just now was it connecting just now


[orh] it was [orh] okay, okay so basically what I was trying to say is that uh, uh a picture like, you can take a staged picture for example uh showing that someone is cheating on someone


even when they're not, but then even if they try to defy it there's the picture there they will most likely believe the picture because pictures they evoke emotion, so they will feel emotional about it and, yeah, uh it shows how a picture is more powerful than words


cause, yeah you can't change pictures, so yeah uh, even though it's like it creates a wrong thing or creates the wrong gives the wrong impression of what someone's doing, a person is more likely to believe the picture unless they really believe the person and believe their words


but other than that, nine like most of the time like ninety nine percent of the time picture will always like, like win a person over, so yeah


yeah


ya but then eventually in the end, when you show pictures about what they're fighting for it creates a deeper sense of purpose than, just mere words right, and like, words are also like, it like, picture always like it always


like wins like words unless like, because even if for example you go to a court room or anything they will ask you for evidence, you can say words anything but eventually you need a picture a picture is considered more of a evidence than just mere words, so a picture is uh all the more more powerful


cause you can take a picture of injustice and report it but then, when you talk about injustice how many people do actually believe it, and not only that uh pictures they like


from the very basis pictures actually create words, when they ask you to describe a picture you are using words for example like, uh I can talk about all those oral exams in like singapore they ask you to use they always use a picture to talk about words


cause they want you to uh to like get words from a picture they want you to describe what's happening in the picture but then, most of the students when they actually look at picture they are not able to describe using words or phrase what they feel,


because a picture creates like shows them deeper but then, they cannot explain they and can they cannot explain it with words, so ya, they uh this is why a picture will always be more powerful than words


okay, ya part three debate topic three, okay so for this uh debate topic uh it's about advertising encourages uh desire for products which people do not actually need


so I feel strongly that this, is actually true, because uh, advertisements they create even when they create a false like reality like the users actually want this but they don't actually need this there's a very big difference between want uh what they want and what they need


so in the end they actually spend things on what they want, but in reality they actually do not need this product for example you can say that, or they want this uh, like for example like, do you want this shampoo, but then in reality they actually do not need this shampoo it's just being advertised that this shampoo oh


it prevents, uh it helps you clear the scalp or helps you it give gives benefits but then, your the shampoo you have at home, it actually does the same thing but then it's being advertised better than shampoo you have at home


so you would want the product, and it, in a way it actually uh encourages a desire for them and they actually want this product, even though they do not need it so, this is what advertising does to you you advertising


makes you spend money on items you do not want and, most of the times people regret buying those things, and, but then they cannot do anything about it, because they they bought the product it's not spoiled or anything


so they have to keep the product, and they get what they did, so yeah


okay yeah but then uh even with that uh, well like advertising, like, it encourages a desire for products, so basically, advertising it makes them feel like oh my uh like I actually want this product


but, people don't have the courage to admit it that they do not actually need it, so advertising in a way it's it's not the, uh people that advertise it's not their fault because, they want their products to be sold


so they need to do this in order to have sale for their products, but then it's the the people that actually buy it, they are the one that actually like have they are the one that have to realize that they do not need the product, they actually only want it, but then uh how to say uh


when they're advertising, like, people will actually realize that, uh uh advertisements they have to be, profit they have to, sort of change what or change or create a lasting impression


on people the, people have to realize that uh, advertisements they are meant to create a lasting impression on people, so this is what advertisement this is what their what's this their purpose


they want to encourage a desire for products which people actually do not need it, so, I feel that uh, that advertisements like they are doing a pretty good job, for now but then the minute like people actually start to realize that advertisements


are trying to encourage them to buy products they do not need, uh it, will be the down down slide or for advertisements and, for companies that attract in like sort of invest in advertising


so I feel that, ya this is what I feel about advertisements and why, they actually encourage like a desire for products that people do not actually want, uh not only that uh, people that uh


buy these products like, they do not realise that they won't use them as much as the products they need like its not essential product, so like for example like essential product they can be toothbrush they can be like slippers a basic function of a slippers is just to be used when walking a basic function of a toothbrush is just to brush your teeth


but then, during in advertisements they will put like, uh or this the product this uh, during this advertisements they'll say more about the toothbrush, they'll say oh this toothbrush is better than most of the toothbrush out there cause they will they do this they do that but then the basic function is just brushing your teeth


and for slippers also they will say oh this is more comfortable or blah blah blah but then in reality slippers are just meant for walking, uh advertising makes people, like, doesn't make people settle for what they actually have it makes them keep buying and buying and it's actually unhealthy


so hold on


I mean for luxurious people that live live uh lead a luxurious lifestyle they actually, they might not have problem cause for them maybe money isn't an issue but then there are people, oh uh, but then there are people that are in the lower class or in the middle class


they do care about their uh expenditure and, at, uh advertisements makes them like, when it evokes this desire in them, they have to spend money, and money is very very essential for them is very very important to them


because unlike those that are live uh that are very rich like filthy rich, and it helps them make their life easier they really, need this product for basic use, cause they can't those people in the lower class or in the middle class they can't afford, to uh have a product


have an expensive product, that does the same function maybe a bit more, like a bit more than what their basic uh basic product does, but then in reality, like the price gap between, the product they have at home and the product they want to buy


the gap is huge so I feel that uh , this is one of the downside for advertising like it makes your life easier like, it definitely does in what expensive products, that are being advertised they are supposed to


make your life easier, but then uh, it only helps with if you have the money to afford it but then if you do not have the money and you still want to, purchase it, it proves my point that advertising encourage a desire for which people do not actually need and


I feel that those people that are in the middle class or lower class they would actually agree with me, because money is, uh , money is very crucial for them and, they would like to, they have to think about where they're spending on


and what they're spending on, so yeah


like even if there is those like rare, circumstances, majority of the time, advertisements their basic their basic purpose their main purpose is to sell products, and they will do anything they do not, uh


care about consumers, as much as they do about selling their products yes they have to care about consumers cause they consumers leave like, reviews and everything and, they want to make sure that their product does what it's meant to do, but then


uh you can for example like you can buy a gucci shoe, like people can advertise about gucci, about how it's oh my oh is like a, very expensive shoe uh, uh it does like it looks nice, but then when you talk about it to like people like


in the middle class or lower class they will look at gucci shoe, but then from their view it's like expensive shoe that does that that is like, that's being advertised like it's it's special it means something when you wear it, but then they do not actually need it


so when they go ahead and buy these shoes like gucci shoes it actually, makes, makes them regret because they do not actually need the shoe, they could have use the money to buy, uh, and something else something more essential for them, but then they are still like buying like how to say


they still go ahead and buy this product cause of advertisements, so they like they are like designer clothes, they are designer clothes they are everything but then, eventually in the end they do not need this, they do not need this thing so I feel that this is why


advertisements they actually encourage, and, uh a desire for products that people actually do not need, yeah


ya but that is what they need don't they like that's not what they want they need the shoe, so for example like if this shoe has basic like some of the features that, they need you always need to go for a shoe for example you can have like, fifty dollars


like you can have like a big like seventy dollars but then like, you would want to buy a shoe, just for the like basic like you need to like running shoes, so for example there's like nike shoes and then there's decathlon shoes running shoes, but then you have seventy dollars and you have like forty dollars to like fend for yourself for the week


so like uh a, a shoe a nike shoe can easily cost like, from seventy dollars to like hundred dollars and you have seventy dollars, but then you would straight away go spend on nike because


nike has advertised the shoe better than decathlon, even though your basic you actually need it for running, so in the end you might regret because you spend all your money on those when on that one running shoe, even when you could have spent on cheaper running shoe and kept the money


so, I feel that yeah uh, companies that are richer they are able to advertise their products and reach a wider audience, but then in the end uh, uh, these audiences they, do not realize that uh


they actually do not need this product they want the product but they do not actually need it, people want some products to look nice but then in the end they realized that unless unless you are like, for example what I said unless you are like filthy rich you do not care about your expenditure but those that care about their expenditure


if they go for nice looking products they actually, are not going for the products that they need they're going for what they want, so there are differences yes


yes but then uh in in that situation, they're actually it's not uh advertising it's not about what do you want that is it, it's what they need so yeah they can, both price range if they, buy the cheaper ones they can buy the shoes


yeah they can advertise about what, this one this one has like better features, and all but then uh, in the end they both need the shoes, so, in a way it doesn't matter, in that point in the sense of way because


technically they are buying a shoe that they need they are not buying a shoe that, they want or like they already have the shoe and they're buying one more, so I


ya but then uh in a way you can have the product that you already have and you already need, but then advertising can also make you, buy a product that you want, in in fact even when you have the product at home that you need, even when you have the product you need at home


so basically, advertising can go can go two ways it can go in a way like, where people can, buy the product they need through advertising and people can buy the product they want but they do not need through advertising, so I feel that


if they actually need it, it's good but then if they do not need it it supports my point like I I'm sure that everyone in their life they have done this before, like they have bought a product online, that they do not need but then they actually want


and they have regretted it, because uh, they need like they sort of like experience it before coming to their senses and realizing that, I actually do not need this product I only want this, so I'm sure uh like


on the like the whole everyone has at least done this once, and, they would agree with my statement also because, it is partially true it encourages a desire for products, and it is one of the


motives of these companies that are advertising their products because they want people to buy their product also


okay, debate topic one


so it's my turn to go, yeah so uh, according to definition the young refers to the age group from eighteen to thirty so I disagree that uh what you refer as children and swimming lessons


so, in singapore the education actually uh starts from, uh primary school is six years and followed by four years in secondary school and an additional of two years in pre-university, this this is a systematic


education system that uh, will guide , students or teenagers to with math the basic math and science education however it does not actually allow them to


uh, be prepared for what the real working world and the real life, uh will will subsequently bring bring to them, uh for example , in in in a practical world we definitely need to work and earn for money err


it this education system does not actually help, to, the the teenagers or youth to actually bring them financial savviness and how to actually be independent and


and uh manage their own finances this is the first point that , I'm talking about and, and the standard teaching actually is just a method to segregates the cream of the crops from the mediocre


so what what I what am I referring to is the grading system per se so we can have students with top distinctions and etcetera which will subsequently lead them to university, the and to to a higher pay grade but what the real world is actually in life is actually to


to probably start a family and uh live with your own passion so, so does education really prepare the young, for a world that is constantly changing I I disagree


right so err you you are referring to problem solving but how how many percent of the education that


the school teaches us we actually carry carry on to our working life, I I would say little, because the school teachers you , the basic math and science like I I've uh spoken previously and


and statistics has shown that uh not necessarily, , the graduates or the diploma holders will naturally follow what, what they learn uh follow follow the career path that of


the education that they have learnt so in fact in actual fact right now, right now people are actually not going for lawyers and doctors, or medicine studies because they realize that these are the educations that


that are not actually helping them, to to, to face the constantly changing world, right


yes err you are right that uh education does determines the starting, or the basic salary that you will be achieving in in your career in your job


however it it does not , however experience also does , play plays a role in determining the salary that you will get


yup and


yup so uh you you were saying that education will determine the basic pay yeah yeah you're right but, , that's that's where I find the education system in singapore is uh going to the I mean it I I don't deny that it is a good education system but


, I wouldn't say that it is the best in generating the youth best interests because uh we we never know or we never we never understand what interest or what uh passion the youth have


and in singapore it, it is forcefully, put on to the youth that education is that important and and that


some of the youth who has passion or interest in arts, design may not end up following their, their what what they actually want and yup and and tend to follow the education system which I I disagree that


uh this is what we are what we are saying that, education is preparing them for


okay sorry yup so so uh you were saying better individuals but how many percent of moral education, has been enforced into the curriculum, I would say at most one hour


per week twice uh one hour for every two weeks do you think it is sufficient to mould them into a better character or, better person where which this uh moral education or values, and compass in them will


will be for the next I don't know maybe thirty forty fifty fifty over years


uh I think this is the, third third topic yup but uh it's alright and okay so so further to argue on, uh my my point that


how about sex education, drug abuse how often are there how how often are they actually enforced on to, students, or children or youth once or twice a year


I I believe that this, to put it bluntly it this is just presented for the sake of, being like oh yeah the the ministry has uh the guideline of oh we need to conduct this presentation every once or twice a year so so we have to


we have to do it but how, are these education actually err preparing the teenagers or youth, for the world that's constantly changing


oh yeah I think it's from my side let let me just err close the window, hang on ah


yup sorry,


yup I I hear you but let me just re clarify my point I I was saying that the frequency that, sex education and drug trafficking or drug abuse the negative impacts the frequency that it's being conducted


in school once or twice a year but looking at the, the crimes the, all all over the world, that that is increasingly nowadays, do you think that is actually sufficient to prepare them for


the world


yup cool right so


right so so are are we, are we right that the motion is wrong that, education does not actually prepare the youth for the world,


right so so let me just uh go to the next point so if today


my peers were to thrown into a real world how how many percent will actually survive, I mean uh, not in singapore per se but let me just uh put a scenario in, the US teenagers err and youth at the age of eighteen as young as eighteen they are actually get chased out of their house or kicked out of their house to survive on their own


in independently, , this is this is the culture that they have in US but if my peers, in singapore were to be kicked out of their house or or not no longer living with their parents


think about it how how many at can actually survive with the amount of, rents the financial burdens or responsibility they that they have to, late


I I believe the number is very little, and, I would say close to zero


yup, yup as in uh how how many of them will actually survive


yup correct you're right that uh education will eventually lead them to a job or a career or or salary to that that they can bring home but the essential skills that for survival maybe uh


living independently getting their chores done or manage their finances are these education actually being taught in school


yes so so so so sorry yeah uh you you continue


exactly exactly my point so so that's the planning does school actually teach you the proper way of planning your life no, does the school actually teach you how much inflow and outflow you should have


no if outflow is more than inflow what will what will it actually land you into debts the the school basically does not teach you how to manage your finances and and uh lead a life which eventually the youth the youngs have to face in the real world


, okay yup so uh and in addition the


highest earners in singapore right now is actually uh are actually business owners traders and and uh and people doing sales does education actually uh teach them how to communicate how to do the social protocols that they have to


, deal with in in in such events or, which I don't think so, I mean right right just now when you were saying yeah money is the the source that that makes the world go goes round so in order to become one of the top higher earners you have to


err encompass yourself with this social protocols uh social skills which I I believe the school does not actually uh guide us or teaches us to the proper way


you mean what's one plus one two plus two


correct so so the finance courses or the, uh accounts courses they are still very career specific which does not actually teaches them how to


lead their life hence I I still believe that education does not prepare the youth for for a world that is constantly changing, which uh leads me to my last point uh we are actually moving into


the fourth industrial revolution err where data and , computer science uh programming are actually in into into the trend right now but how many how many computer science or programming graduates do we get per year actually I would say one thousand one thousand five hundred


that's the maximum number of graduates that we can and to what extent is the singapore's education system actually preparing us or preparing the youth for such change


debate topic two


alright so uh so I, on my side I disagree that techno technological developments can actually are actually serving little purpose in of, or technological developments becoming more sophisticated and hence books serving little purpose in education because uh in that case shouldn't all the libraries be closed


right so why why do we have all the hardcopies in the libraries for reference or why why do we still have uh so many visitors to the library every now and then because there are still a, a percentage of human beings who prefers the contact with books or hardcopy of reading materials not not necessarily all the


all the technological developments of or laptops tablets or even kindles uh reading devices can actually serves such purpose in education


so yup, uh, yup you you you can continue


I I do agree that , interactive in the interactive err technology or in interactive uh visual aids are actually


uh, assisting or helping the, education to to bring it more sophisticated however uh I I just want to correct your point that uh visual learners are are learners who


who, are better off with, learning through, drawings with diagrams with uh pictures which I believe that books can also serve the same purpose, with uh little difference from the uh soft copy


right so uh you're right since young , parents are actually allowing their the kids to start using laptops tablets for for educational purpose but do you know how much radiation and infrared is coming out from the electronic devices


and how harmful it can be for, for those who are, using since young age I would say kids nowadays with have probably uh


less healthy because of the, the use of electronics more frequently and, just now you mentioned that uh yeah we we we don't have to actually carry uh tons of books to to and back from school


but, I just want to remind you that the school provide us lockers so that we can actually uh place our hardcopy materials in the in the school and by carrying them uh to and fro, schools I believe it is also a form of exercising which can leads to a


healthier being, right


(mmhmm)


uh yes sorry yup yup correct so so, I I believe the point that you are saying is the technological developments actually bring more convenience to the students instead of books serving uh little purpose in education because I believe


exposing the youth or students to tech technological, uh development such as uh laptop tablets will also expose them to distractions at a young age such as uh games or even social media on on the electronical devices


on the with with the internet so, I believe this will actually distract them, to to, the wrong track instead of having the proper education or the segregating the right time to study


right so uh you say they can be restricted from all the games and social media but wouldn't it be more straightforward if you were to just throw them the books instead of laptops and tablets, to prevent the, them from having such issues and


and we don't even have to discipline them to oh you you can't be using social media oh you can't be a playing games in class you only have books with you, so study and that's education


right so, so so you're comparing uh since young and I believe when in a real working world with all your superiors around that there shouldn't be any uh gaming or or social media


during during work time yup and correct that's the proof of the current generation uh current working, generation which they have been using books since young so why is there a need to change from books to being to tablets for education


right so


here's my point so uh you you mentioned that uh, we can use tablets or laptops for for young learners to actually start


in education but, how about the costs if we were to implement these to the current education, uh what if kids with uh financial


who are in financial difficulties who are who are there to, support them will there be will will they be on a, disadvantaged as compared to those who have laptops and tablets


so yes I I do agree that uh having electronical devices actually helps the current situation however how often is this situation happening I I don't know maybe once in a hundred years


I I I can't predict the future but, so so you were mentioning that uh, it is it is, okay for students or kids to be learning at home so are are we supposed to scrape off all the


education or the schools so that we can do home based learning from now onwards


so so we have come to a conclusion that uh books still don't books don't serve little purpose it it still serve, uh, major or significant purpose in education despite the technological developments do you agree with me


yes you are right that uh we there's a lot of knowledge or a lot of contents on , the, the internet nowadays but how sure are we that


this is the proper education that, that we want to, be teaching our children or, how sure are we that these are facts or knowledge, which are a hundred percent truth which I can over here tell you guarantee you that the information from the books are truthful because it is being published by a renowned


authors or or professor or even highly educated person so I would say that the information on the books are actually, , , responsible their facts which I have in in the event that I have my children I I I will not be afraid of them reading up books because I know that the content in the books are are truth are facts


and and uh these these are the information that I I want my children to uphold instead of from the the internet


debate topic three


so , so the proposition do you agree with me that with education, or we can reduce or minimise or, reduce the crime rates to zero so that


we can make the world a better place


so so with higher education with better education, the tendency of, committing a crime is lower, or close to zero do you agree with me


like someone with a degree or a master or even a PhD, because from statistics recently there's a, vice president from uh, from a public sector


who has been involved with a bribery case of, over a million, so I disagree that err education, is the most powerful tool that that will actually make the world a better place because with higher education, he


still uses the education involved in him to commit crimes, which uh in in such case is bribery, so how how are we to ensure that to make the world a better place we we we can actually


through education


correct okay, so let me let me just bring you to this point that the previous US president barack obama he he only holds a BA degree and a law degree without any masters PhD and he is the first US president who did so much change to the world


to make it a better place and a second example that I will bring forward is , miss Aung-San-Suu-Kyi the current state counsellor of myanmar, and also a nobel prize uh peace prize holder


with the highest education of just masters they make so much change to the world and, we have people who are holding PhD or even a doctorate double doctorate , who are still not making the world a better place how how are we to say that education is the most powerful tool


which leads me to my conclusion that it is the personality the characteristic the upbringing which is the most powerful tool that will make the world a better place do you agree with me


so so upon bringing education be, wouldn't we be reducing the crime rates and I mean the the world is a better place so why why do we need lawyers to fight the crimes ah that's just jokes


okay so, you you were mentioning that the previous examples that I I mentioned, were world leaders, right so let me let me bring some non world leaders as examples to you steve jobs bill gates mark zuckerberg they are all college dropouts so


let us know the significance impact that they have created to the world and, connect the world together, through facebook, microsoft et cetera


so do we really believe that education is the most powerful tool


so , let me just clarified the statistics because you were mentioning one out of ten and in a population of let's say singapore a six million population there will be six hundred thousand individuals like mark zuckerberg


, in just singapore but that's the statistics that you were giving me just now,


okay let's say , okay let's say one in a million, okay and and we have a ten billion uh


population in the world, however we still need these individuals to make the world a better place so they managed to make the world, at a convenience or improved the world significantly so is education really that important


so right now if we were to transfer the knowledge from mark zuckerberg or, uh steve jobs to you do you think you will have the capability to actually come up with the software of a facebook or reinvent the apple


products with the limited knowledge bearing in mind


and how many times have steve jobs actually failed creating the apple product before he is that famous right now


and let me bring you another example jack Ma the founder of Alibaba, so he failed ten interviews, straight in in china but he didn't he didn't actually give up


so what I'm what am I, uh emphasizing it's the character it's the determination that they have in them, that will make the world a better place instead of the education that they have in them if today jack ma were to give up at the ninth


interview attempt and he commits suicide or be it uh he gave up he live his life as a failure so do you think we can have the technology of uh using Taobao or Alibaba as a, as a service to us


so so let me bring you back to the point where, you say that oh we need medical we we we are grateful for all the doctors nurses that uh with the proper education that they have right now, so so that we can help to fight the pandemic


but right now have you actually find found a cure to this pandemic and uh cancer has been ongoing for so long and uh taken so many lives has there ever been a


proper cure, to cancer, if education is really that powerful


right so, uh with all these education that the doctors and nurses possess do you know how many percent of, the, the individuals actually gave up on their job because uh of the pandemic right now


it is it is a dangerous job that , I believe not every individual has the character or has have the passion to actually make the world a better place so with even with the education not everyone are willing to actually make the world a better place it it boils down to the character


it boils down to what they can the selflessness they have in them to continue with their service so I believe that education uh is not necessarily the most powerful tool, to to help make the world a better place


okay debate topic one


okay so, to what extent does education prepare the young for a world that is constantly changing, so uh basically I feel the education uh prepare the children to have at least the basic knowledge


and also teaches the young to learn how to adapt to changes, like uh, streaming classes, or may be uh, changes in subjects all throughout their study lives


yup, okay,


okay but, education is actually the basic, for everybody to, actually have a better basic like higher education like for example higher education it also uh help enable students or may


be enabled individuals to have higher level thinking skills as well and basically with experiences and also education it can also nurtures the, youngs to to probably become a problem solver


right, but education I mean not only in lawyers or medical science or, but, education is also important, for every job, I feel, like uh even if you go for


probably interviews they normally uh they would see your education also, so education is actually quite important, I feel


but it does uh play a role in the salary that we'll be getting, like yeah if you go for interviews they would normally see the education, to, to confirm the basic that you'll be getting so like without


education or without, experiences you'll be getting a lower, basic normally


okay


yup but education also prepare from from young from young age and also for their future in terms of academics or maybe to mould them to become a better individuals in future, when they want to grow up yup


yes okay you're right but but as, nelson mandela also said right education is also the most powerful weapon, which you can use to change the world