For this reason it is important to look at ethnic and cultural background, work experience, and life stage as well as income and education level as indicators of how communicating media shape identity. Households establish and control public and private boundaries with technology. Information and communications technologies and services help households construct boundaries both within the household and between the household and the outside world. Households use devices to screen out the outside world, control access into the home, and develop private and public spaces within the household. Tools that facilitate boundary building and context shifting will be highly valued by households.
Households derive value from convenience, cost, and utility.
Highly valued tools are those that are used by many household members for many kinds of uses, decreasing the cost per use. Devices or services are also highly valued when they enhance the productivity or activity of another device. There are several important implications for new media product and service vendors that emerged from our analysis of connecteds. Help consumers in their quest for meaning, connection, and community. Vendors should leverage consumer desire for communication and connection to build trust for transactions-based services.