Families in a High-Tech Age

Abstract

This study analyzes a couple-level ( N = 581), longitudinal data set of employees to provide evidence about technology use over time, the factors that predict use, and the potential for a spouse to influence an individual's use. Although longitudinal usage patterns suggest a trend toward adoption and use of e-mail, the Internet, cell phones, and pagers over time, this trend toward continuing use is stronger for some technologies (e-mail, the Internet) than for others (cell phones, pagers). Furthermore, correlates of use differ by gender and the type of technology used. Last, technology use tends to be an individual-rather than couple-level phenomenon, with one exception. In the case of cell phone or pager use, husbands’ past use influences wives’ use 2 years later.