Nowadays, almost everyone has the latest technology gadgets. Small children would rather hold a smartphone in their hands and surf the Internet than play with dolls and cars, average teenagers own an iPhone, an iPad and an iPod and hardly ever stop using them. Families usually sit in front of their Full HD Smart TV and amuse themselves - they often forget that they could spend some free time together, going to the mountains for example.

Technologies are changing the world, as a result of which our entertainment habits are constantly changing, too. Let's go back to the 16th century - to the Renaissance Period. The high class used to entertain themselves with works of art, music and theatre. They would also participate in the sports of fencing, falconry, horse riding and hunt for pheasant, dear, or fox. Cricket was also played by the nobility. The middle class enjoyed fine arts and theatre, too. Travelling troups of actors entertained the masses. Three centuries later, in the 19th century, entertainment habits were almost the same - theatre halls were numerous and performances were regularly given by theatre troupes, hypnotists, poets, comedians, choirs and orchestras. There were fetes, carnivals, art exhibitions and lessons in singing, dancing and cooking to attend.

Entertainment during the 21st century had evolved from the same types of entertainment which emerged around the middle of the 20th century. Sports, films, music, TV series' and books remained popular into the early 21st century but new forms of entertainment including social networking & internet accessed videos became popular. In addition, there are many entertainment trends, e.g. new digital technologies will reshape the economics, production, distribution, and marketing of the entertainment industry; faster, smarter, and more powerful multimedia devices will enhance our capacity for producing and distributing entertainment.

In my opinion, "any change, even a change for the better, is always accompanied by drawbacks and discomforts" (Arnold Bennett). On the one hand, everything is just a click away. You don't have to go to the bookstore to buy a book - you can simply download it to your iPad. You can listen to your favourite music on YouTube, and even

sing along. On the other hand, this "virtual" entertainment makes us forget all the activities we used to do - going for a walk, meeting friends, etc. If you are reading my essay, you are probably entertaining yourself, using the Internet. As you can see, entertainment habits are really changing because of technology.