Charisse is a 34-year-old married African-American woman with two children (ages 6 and 3), who lives with her white husband and biracial children in a townhouse they own - which is in a predominantly white, middle class neighborhood in Washington Township, New Jersey. Charisse has completed three years of college toward a degree in communications. She has been a full-time mother since the birth of her six-year-old son (Christian), except when she attempted to return to work as a legal secretary last year; she felt she needed to return to her full-time family commitments after only one month on the job. Christian is developmentally delayed and currently functions at the level of a 3-year-old.

Free Time: In her free time Charisse reads and engages in many different crafts, enjoying the feeling of accomplishment when viewing a finished craft project. Some of these craft projects are for both her and the children while others are for just her. Her favorite television programs include the West Wing (for its insight into the White House and its protocols), Judging Amy, and Moesha.

Charisse reports a small social network including only 6 people. However, she is in frequent contact with all six of them through many methods including email, letters, cards, telephone, and social gatherings.

Internet: Charisse has a computer at home, which is connected to the Internet via a regular phone line and a modem. She first used the Internet in 2000 at home.

Charisse estimates that she uses the computer for email about 2 hours per week. In an average day she sends about 10 personal one-to-one messages, and receives about four in return. She also reports receiving as many as 30 e-list or junk mail messages per day. She reports that email increased the number of people with whom she is in touch because it is "cheaper than calling on the phone and it's popular, everybody's emailing." Charisse has never used a chat room or instant messaging.

Her Internet provider is netzero.com and she generally types in site names or searches rather than using search engines or hyper links. She seems to view the Internet as an entertainment resource for her children and a less expensive way for her to get information than she would otherwise. She accesses disney.com and pbs.org to play games, read stories, and get information for upcoming events for her children. Charisse also reports regularly using accessing crosswalks.com for Christian devotionals. She also reports accessing essence.com monthly rather than purchasing the magazine.

Charisse also visits the library with her children twice a week and utilizes the Internet on each visit. She accesses similar sites as those she uses at home, primarily games and stories for her children. She explores new sites when using the Internet at one of her best friend's homes. Her friend recommends sites related to their faith and their black female cultural needs to her.

Her husband is a computer programmer and Charisse views her skills as very limited and unsophisticated in comparison to him. She was unfamiliar with the terms "search engine" and "portal" and could not think of anything she had discovered on the Internet that had made her feel especially "happy" or "clever".

Interviewer: Yvonne Shands