Four Levels of PC Adoption
 

There's a simple explanation. My parents have accepted PC technology without embracing it. Like many people, they ignored home computers for a long time -- fifteen years or more -- before they finally broke down and got one in the mid 1990s. (I think my brother gave them his old one.) They weren't wild about it at first, but when they found out how using email could save them a ton of postage, they became quick converts. Since then, they've slowly added items to their repertoire -- sending photos, getting directions, reading the news -- to the point where they view their PC as a convenient household device on a par with, say, the toaster oven.

http://www.pcmech.com/show/influence/704/