The social consumption of information and communication technologies (ICTs): insights from research on the appropriation and consumption of new ICTs in the domestic environment
This paper reviews some of the research on the use and consumption of technology in the domestic space that may not be familiar to members of the usability and design community, especially those traditionally focused on design for the workplace. The paper also introduces original research findings and conclusions from a qualitative study of the adoption and use of new ICTs conducted in a number of households and workplaces in the late 1990s, a time when many new ICT products and services were becoming available, and more traditional media and communication products were becoming widespread in homes. The paper does not make recommendations about the type of products and services to be developed, nor those that may be successful, although it is quite possible to draw this type of conclusion from it. Instead it looks at some rather broader trends in the way that we engage with technologies, rejecting and adopting them, and the importance of our domestic space and social networks to the way we will engage with future technologies aimed at the home space.
consumption icts home spaces