A touch screen monitor is simply put, a computer monitor that allows direct interaction with what is on the screen rather than using a mouse or touchpad. This eliminates the needs for peripherals and lets the user select links and actions simply by placing either their finger or a stylus directly against the screen. While these are mainly used in business, the advances in technology have made them much more affordable and therefore, more accessible for home use.

There are many different types of touch screen monitors available. The most common is the resistive touch screen. This monitor consists of two very thin electrically conductive layers. When an object, such as finger is pressed at any point on the screen, contact is made sending a signal from that point on the screen to the controller for processing.

A touch screen monitor has a variety of uses and they will mainly be found in kiosks and business applications. There are many reasons to look in to one of these for home use, particularly if there is limited space where the computer is placed. The touch screen allows for the computer to be operated without a mouse, therefore there is no need for surface area to operate one on.

Each of the touch screens manufactured is built in layers. They all rely on a small electrical disturbance between the layers for signal input to the computer itself. There were also many different technologies created to help the controller differentiate from a finger and another object so there were no false readings should something else contact the screen.

A touch screen monitor may be found in just about anywhere someone may go during the course of a normal day. Bank ATMs, self-checkouts at the store and airport ticket kiosks are just a few mainstream uses for touch screens. With advances in technology, there is almost nowhere one of these will not be found and they will continue to become more prevalent in daily life as time goes on.

A touch screen monitor can make life that much easier with removing the need for a mouse. There is no more taking the mouse apart because it is not registering the movement and cleaning it. This also speeds up the computer response time to what is being accessed by the screen by not having to go from a secondary device to the computer and then to the screen.