It is important to know everything about the use of ICT at home, especially its advantages and disadvantages. ICTs are used in countless areas such as finance, medicine or education, and now they can also be implemented at home.
Since using ICTs at home can make life easier for the whole family, discover in this note what they are about and how you can use them to get the most out of them.
ICT What are they?
Information and Communication Technologies, better known as ICT, are a series of tools designed to facilitate the issuance and access to information. This with the aim of achieving improvements in various areas of society. These tools are made up of a wide variety of electronic and technological devices and computer systems.
To understand it better, ICT is understood as those devices developed for the purpose of issuing, receiving, storing and sending information. This is achieved through the combination of computer, audiovisual and telephone networks. The television, the telephone and the computer are the best examples when it comes to ICT.
Currently, the implementation of ICT allows an extremely fast form of communication, something that was impossible many years ago. ICTs can be used regardless of distance, since through these tools people can communicate even from different countries.
It should be noted that thanks to the arrival of the internet, as well as network connections, ICTs have evolved significantly. Especially when it comes to ICT at home, at work or in education. Over time, the use of ICT has been applied in a huge number of activities that require internet connection. In addition, with the development of multiple electronic devices, it is possible to increase the range of the signal, thus becoming a channel to transmit and receive information.
What are the characteristics of ICT?
As mentioned in the previous part, Information and Communication Technologies use electronic devices to carry out their objective. At the same time, they make use of the Internet to develop different media that serve to exchange information and thus use it for various purposes. Therefore, knowing its characteristics allows us to discover that ICTs improve everyone’s daily life, especially ICTs at home.
The most important characteristics of ICT are the following:
- They favor the development of a large number of innovative communication tools. This through the joint combination of electronic devices and, of course, new technologies.
- They facilitate the creation of interaction between the people who make use of these tools. This allows improving communication as well as the exchange of information through different electronic devices.
- Thanks to their real-time interaction, ICTs exchange information practically instantaneously.
- In addition to the use of ICT at home, these tools are essential in many areas of great importance to human life. Among these are the economy, industrial activity, culture, science and education.
As with new technologies, ICTs continue to grow constantly
How to use ICT at home?
Now, once you know what they are and what are the characteristics of ICT, it is time to discover how to use them at home. In this case, there are many electronic devices that are used daily at home, whether to communicate, entertain, study or work. Therefore, ICTs at home are more than present in the daily lives of millions of people in the world.
Nowadays, it is normal to have a television in the home, since it is part of the main means of entertainment for children and adults. This type of electronic device is part of home ICT, since it transmits and stores information. In addition, with the help of new technologies, it is possible to connect the TV through the Internet and thus obtain access to a greater amount of information.
Likewise, Information and Communication Technologies are also present in computers and mobile phones. These devices have become indispensable tools in any home, since they allow a constant exchange of information. Besides, these are very useful and necessary devices in other areas such as education and even work. The use of ICT at home is of vital importance to carry out other fundamental activities to improve the quality of life.
ICTs can also be used in health care and also cleaning tasks at home. In the case of health, there is a wide variety of devices such as digital thermometers, which receive and send information about the patient’s condition. There are also countless quite modern appliances, capable of storing information and then carrying out their different functions.
The implementation of ICT in the home grows along with the new technological developments that are created daily. Therefore, its importance goes beyond facilitating daily activities within the home. Information and Communication Technologies allow interaction not only with nearby people, but also with those who are in distant places. Which represents a great advantage, especially bearing in mind the situation of confinement that is experienced throughout the world.
What are the advantages and disadvantages of using ICT at home?
Improving people’s quality of life is one of the main objectives of ICT at home. However, depending on how ICTs are implemented, they can be both positive and negative. For this reason, it is essential to know its advantages and disadvantages to achieve the correct use of ICT at home.
Advantages of ICT at home
Using ICT at home has some advantages that not only benefit adults, but also children and even the elderly.
Ideal for facilitating intra-family communication
One of the great advantages of using ICTs at home is that they serve as a means of communicating with other family members. Especially those who are physically quite far away and for some reason cannot be present at home.
The constant innovation of communication systems offers fast transmission and reception regardless of distance. In addition, updates to electronic devices allow sending, receiving and storing texts as well as multimedia files such as images and audio.
In this sense, older people can have a means of communication to contact their children and also grandchildren. Whether by video calls or messages, this even if the geographical distance is very great.
Access to work and education from home
All family members can use ICT from home to carry out various daily activities. These are related to work, education and recreation, without the need to leave the house.
In several countries, new forms of work and study are applied, designed so that children, adolescents and also adults remain at home. This becomes a great opportunity for everyone to share together, strengthening their family ties.
Service payments without leaving home
Another advantage of ICT is that the vast majority of service payments can be made from the comfort of home. With the development of new technologies, it is possible to carry out such actions from a mobile phone or a computer. This is achieved with the combination of electronic devices and internet access.
Disadvantages of ICT in the home
Despite its benefits, the use of ICT at home can also have some disadvantages. So it is essential to keep them in mind, these are:
Drastic reduction in family interaction
Although it may seem somewhat ironic, just as ICTs help improve family ties through interaction, the opposite can also happen. This will depend on the use of ICTs at home, since doing so in an excessive way could lead to lack of communication in the family.
This situation has become very frequent in many families that even living in the same home, family interaction is very low. This situation is due to the fact that everyone at home uses different devices for their daily activities.
If not corrected in time, this could become an unhealthy situation due to physical and especially emotional distancing. What would wear down family ties, generating serious problems, especially in the youngest.
Sources: lifeder, differentiator, todomatter