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sector: home use |
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location: Altrincham |
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technology used: broadband since September 2002 through BT |
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website: N/A |
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The Locke family live in a terraced house, close to the centre of Altrincham, a large market town on the outskirts of Manchester. Steve and Sue have been together for fifteen years but 'never got round to getting married'. Steve is an insurance agent in his early 40s, and largely works from home. Sue (43) works as a playground supervisor at the local school. Sue's eldest son, Luke (22), recently left home but still lives close by and regularly comes round. James (21) works for Carphone Warehouse but has been off work for the past ten months due to a serious car crash. |
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Sarah (18) is training to be a hairdresser. Callum (10) is at school, and has cerebral palsy and autism. The house is very tidy. Family activity seems to centre around the living room and dining room, which are connected by an archway. It is a 'technology rich' household,with three computers, four mobile telephones, four cordless telephones, a combined telephone and fax machine, a couple of televisions, DVD players and stereos.They subscribe to Sky. They have one computer in the dining room, on a desk that also houses the scanner and the printer and is completely lacking any kind of clutter. |
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This computer is not connected to the internet: they say they will at some point but have not got round to it yet. Steve uses this computer for manipulating photos, his hobby. It is switched off most of the time and plastic protective covers are placed over the computer and printer. Sue rarely uses the computer; she plays solitaire and she has a couple of friends that she emails, one of whom is abroad quite often. Sue says she has not had time to learn and is scared of breaking the computer in some way. |
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It also seems that there is little time in which Sue could use the computer – although Steve and Sue both work, it seems that Sue is responsible for the majority of the childcare, housework and cooking, leaving little spare time. As Sue says, when you have four children, life is made up of a series of 'blips' that have to be dealt with. She says she also finds computers very antisocial: 'If Steve's watching TV, I can still cuddle up to him', whereas she felt she could not do that if he was on the computer. |
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There are two computers in James's bedroom, one not in use, which is kept in a cupboard. The computer that is used is placed on a desk in the corner of the room, by the window, surrounded by CDs and DVDs. James uses his computer largely for the internet. He played games on the computer when he was younger but not any more. He also has a digital camera, but has not used it much so far. His brother Callum uses the computers for his homework. |
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It was James who persuaded the family to get broadband. Speed was the main motivation behind the switch. They got broadband installed 'on the side' – installed by a friend who works for BT so that they did not pay for the installation. Still, they talked of the cost and the hassle, all the 'gizmos' they had to get. |
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For most of the family, internet use tends not to be regular but more 'event driven', looking up information, for example, for Callum's homework. Sue looked up information when they first found out that Callum had autism because they could not find a suitable book.When they had carpet beetles, she also looked up information on that. She places emphasis on the fact that she could get the information quickly. Steve and Sue both have concerns about security. They will not bank on the internet for fear of people getting hold of their bank details. They are reluctant to shop on the internet for the same reasons but will when it is necessary. Another barrier to shopping online is a feeling of not knowing what you are getting – although there may be a Photo, Steve and Sue felt that they would want to see the physical object.This is particularly true of food shopping. |
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Steve and Sue also worry that the internet, and computers and technology in general, are antisocial and that people can become too dependent on them. They both say that they like to talk to people and miss that in shopping or banking online. They also worry about what Callum will find online. James mainly uses the internet to download films and music. The money he saves justifies the expense of broadband. Normally he starts downloading and leaves the computer – thus, although he may spend several hours a day downloading films and music, it is probably only around 15 minutes a day that he spends actually sat at the computer. James has found lots of viruses and SpyWare since getting broadband, so he now uses Norton virus checker. |
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James does not use email much. He prefers to use MSN Messenger because it is quicker. He has been in chatrooms before but now will not on the basis that they are full of people who are not who they say they are. On one occasion, he and a friend talked to two girls in a chatroom and the girls sent 'their' photos, but when they met up, it became apparent that the photos were not their photos – on seeing the girls, James and his friend walked away. |
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For the Locke household, broadband, and the internet generally, has yet to revolutionise their lives. Its main useat the moment is as a tool for downloading films and music, a task that would be too slow without it. |
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