The following lesson activities are based on the column “Tech’s ‘Frightful 5’ Will Dominate Digital Life for Foreseeable Future.”
Before Reading
What five companies — the “undisputed rulers of the consumer technology industry” — do you think this article will be about? Why? What role do they play in your life?
After Reading
Read the entire article and answer the questions, supporting your responses by citing evidence from the text.
1. What are the five companies? How many did you guess right?
2. How do these companies “lord over all that happens in tech”? Why, according to this columnist, can we “bet on them continuing to win”?
3. What examples of new technologies that are “likely to stand alongside” the Big Five does the column list?
4. What is “the core of the Frightful Five’s indomitability”?
5. How is “the data buried in the platforms” also a rich source for new business for these five companies?
6. What does this column mention as significant threats to the five giants?
Going Further
Of the Frightful Five, which one do you use most often? What do you like about it? What don’t you like?
What problems could arise if these five companies continue to “lord over all that happens in tech”? What might be the future effects of their market dominance?
What new technologies most excite you? Why?
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