FOUR out of five (78 per cent) of people in Belfast believe technology is integral to their lives at home, yet more than half own tech they don’t know how to make the most of.
The average person in Belfast has £9,613 worth of tech in their household (the overall UK average) is £7,500) and spends £6,499 - the highest amount in the UK - on new gadgets and upgrades each year, ranging from handsets to laptops and TVs.
The research was conducted by BT to support its launch of a new team of 900 UK-wide Home Tech Experts designed to bring help to customers' homes and deal with their tech frustration.
And the repair visits will be totally free for all BT home broadband, TV and phone line customers while help with set up, repairs and an annual health check will be included free for Halo customers. There will be a £30 set up charge for all other customers.
Pete Oliver, managing director of marketing at BT. said: “Our homes are continuing to get smarter. yet it’s clear we’re not always getting the most out of home tech which can unlock a whole host of features and make our lives easier.
“That’s why we’ve launched a new team of Home Tech Experts, who will provide a friendly helping hand in the home, resolving connectivity issues and making sure customers across the UK are getting the most from their home tech – all at a time that is convenient to them.”
Interestingly, it's the over-60s who consider themselves more tech savvy, with 59 per cent saying they know how to use all of the technology in their home.
When they do need help, it's the younger generation they turn to for tech help, with 39 per cent choosing their kids over friends and neighbours if they ever needed to solve a tech problem.
As a result, nearly one in five (19 per cent) adults said they have left expensive gadgets to gather dust as they just couldn’t get their head around how they work, and the typical person said they couldn’t access or understand at least a quarter of the functions on their smartphone, smart TV, laptop, tablet and games console.
According to those polled, the top 10 most confusing home tech items are:
1 Wi-Fi routers and extenders
2 Smart TV
3 Games Console
4 Laptop
5 Smartphone
6 Smart heating
7 Smart watch
8 Set top box (TV)
9. Tablet
10 Smart speaker (like Alexa)
