To explain the impact of ICT on Individuals I will be using an elderly lady named Lily as an example and how ICT has had an impact on her life, she has sky plus so that she can record programmes so they are available at all times, a personal alarm so that if there is ever any complications with her health or threats to her safety she can contact an operator who sends out someone to help, a phone system stored with her family, friends and carers numbers that allows a phone to be in each room she uses, a mobile phone so that she can text family members and leave a message for when they are not answering the main phone, a personal computer on this she keeps herself entertained and up-to-date on the world, uses a webcam so she can Skype family without having to leave her house, uses the internet to shop, pay bills and check her bank statements and also uses social networking sites to be able to see family photographs etc. without this technology Lily’s life would be negatively affected on a large scale, being able to use a webcam and have free access to programs such as Skype she is able to still keep a close connection to her loved ones seeing them virtually face to face on a regular basis making her feel less alone, she’d be isolated from the outside world without her personal computer which allows her to keep up with news and even listen to the radio from her birthplace of Ireland, the internet gives her full control on when she wants to pay her bills, she can check her bank statements anytime of the day and do her shopping without moving a muscle, in a result from her stroke and other complications she is left with limited mobility which would make it difficult to do all these things without the technology. This came as a surprise to me as the majority of OAP’s choose not to embrace technology deeming it complicated and confusing when in reality technology becomes easier to use each passing day, however I am not surprised Lily embraced technology as she had lost her husband leaving her alone in the world and just goes to show how ICT can make an astonishing impact on a individuals life even if they were once extremely unfamiliar with it.
