Alexa, Siri are helping users battle loneliness, making disabled people more independent: Survey

Smart speakers are certainly a boon. They help us navigate technology with ease, actas a home assistant and turnout as a friend in lonely times.

New research from Ofcom has revealed that these smart devices can help users feel less lonely and also help disabled people feel more independent.

Watch |Alexa for Animals: Tech is helping humans understand the animal kingdom

The UK Office of communications or Ofcom did an in-depth survey involving 100 smart speaker owners and 15 non-owners. They found that a large number of survey participants reported that the speakers acted as a "companion" with whom they can talk.

"Some described their speaker as being like a companion, particularly if they lived alone. They felt it was good for combatting loneliness and liked the fact they could talk to their speakers," said Ofcom on its website.

The organisation found that during the pandemic, smart speaker ownership in the UK households doubled from 22 per cent in 2020 to 39 per cent in 2022.

A key finding is that these speakers helped disabled people be more independent. Users reported that the device had a significant impact on their lives, giving them a greater sense of independence and "helping them manage – and even improve – their conditions and abilities."

"It really is the difference between maintaining independence around the house... my carers don’t have to keep getting up every five minutes. Like this evening, I was able to just ask it to put these lights on. Years ago, before I had that facility... I would have had to ask people to do things manually," said one such user.

However, on the flip side people who don't own the smart devices said that they view smart speakers as a luxury or they just didn't understand the point of owning one. A few were even worried about being spied on, as many controversy theories claim these devices can "listen in".

WATCH WION LIVE HERE