Tech: help or hindrance to privacy? - Ikea Life at Home 2019

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TECH AND PRIVACY

Tech: help or hindrance to privacy?

It’s often a love/hate relationship with personal technology. Life admin, travel and pursuing hobbies are made easier with the help of smartphones. Yet, fear of an ‘always on’ mentality gives many of us pause for thought.

Is it possible to be too connected? Can we ever truly have downtime with the buzzing, beeping and vibrating of our phones in the background? In fact, research from the IKEA Life at Home Report 2019 shows that 49% of people globally think that turning our tech on silent, off, or ‘do not disturb’ is vital for achieving privacy.

But that’s not the whole story. When it comes down to it, most of us feel in control of whether our devices help or hinder private moments. Of 35,500 survey respondents, 70% believe that technology actually helps them achieve headspace in their home.

Messaging and social media can be an escape into a private state of mind without others intruding. Likewise, phones and tablets give parents of small children a much-needed break to share time together, work or talk. They’re also the primary way to connect with friends and family who don’t live around the corner.

It’s a delicate balance and there are moments when we might feel like tech devices are more of an appendage than a life tool. But simple solutions like switching to airplane mode for an hour, or putting phones and tablets in another room when you need to concentrate, can be all we need to get it right.

Of 35,500 survey respondents, 70% believe technology helps them achieve headspace in their home.

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