Personal computers are being acquired
by increasingly larger percentages of the public.
However, their integration into the home remains
an unresolving issue. Research on other media un
derscores the importance of investigating not only
the adoption of computing but also the ways per
sonal computers are used within particular social
contexts in order to better understand their implica
tions. A typology is suggested as an initial frame
work for the study of patterns of computer use in
the home, along with four sets of independent fac
tors—social status, technical features, sociocultural
setting, and personal attributes. This approach inte
grates patterns of computer utilization with techno
logical, social, and psychological factors to account
for the implications of computing in the home.
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