Greg Jones uses more gizmos than George Jetson. The network at his Plano home lets him control the temperature, monitor his back yard and listen to his music from his bedroom, his office at Texas Instruments Inc. or his room at a foreign hotel.

Louis Canelakes lives more like Fred Flintstone. His bustling pub operates without aid from computers, credit card readers or electronic cash registers. And the cellphone – well, don't get him started on the cellphone.

Messrs. Jones and Canelakes inhabit the same physical space but don't really live in the same world, and they are not alone.

A new survey from the Pew Internet & American Life Project shows that while a third of American adults embrace technology for both work and play, fully half the nation shies away from anything fancier than a television remote.

"It was very surprising to see just how small a group uses the full potential of modern information and communication technology and just how large a group hardly uses it at all," said John B. Horrigan, Pew's associate director for research.

"I read and hear so much about people who write blogs and post pictures on Flickr and watch TV on their cellphones; I expected them to be a much larger group than they actually are."

Dr. Horrigan's study, based on a telephone survey of 4,001 adults, breaks Americans into 10 groups based on the number of gadgets they own, the frequency with which they use those gadgets and the attitude they have toward connectivity.

Researchers found some heavy technology users who hate how technology keeps them "constantly on call." They also found some would-be users who feel they don't understand technology well enough to jump in feet first.

Mostly, however, Americans embrace or ignore technology for one simple reason: personal preference.

Mr. Jones, for example, simply loves gizmos.

He spends his days helping Texas Instruments tailor products to big customers such as AT&T Inc. and Sprint Nextel Corp. Then he drives home and spends his leisure hours tinkering with exactly the same products.

His home network ties together about 80 devices, most of which can be operated from anywhere.

"A lot of it is practical stuff," he said. "My system lets me video conference with my family when I'm on the road. It lets me open my house for a repairman from my desk at work. It even lets me send any movie or television program from my home to any screen in the world, even the screen of my cellphone."

Things look very different at Louie's bar on Henderson Avenue.

"I've got a phone book. I've got a dictionary. I've got an almanac. I can't really see why I'd need the Internet," said Mr. Canelakes, who also prefers paper ledgers to business management software.

Such attitudes make Louie's look more like a museum than a functioning restaurant, and that's just the way Mr. Canelakes likes it. It seems to foster more and better human interaction.

"It's not like I'm a complete stranger to technology," he said. "I've bought computers and cellphones for my family. I've tinkered.

"But God, when I see them hunched over those things for hours, it just seems like they're wasting time. I think we'd all be happier if we spent more time talking to people face to face and less time typing out messages to them."

How can two men feel so differently about technology? Travel habits may explain some of the divergence.

Mr. Jones spends half his life traveling the world for TI. Networks make him feel more connected.

Mr. Canelakes lives five minutes from his restaurant. He sees little point in cellphones because he's rarely on the road.

Sounds plausible, but both men admit their attitudes transcend pragmatism. Mr. Jones says that more time at home would just be more time to expand his network. Mr. Canelakes says that a computer would ruin the rhythm of his operation.

Dr. Horrigan worries some about people at both extremes.

"There probably are people who spend too much time with machines and too little time with real people," he said. "On the other hand, there are certainly people who miss out on important information – like the sort of health information that helps you ask your doctor better questions – because they don't use technology. ... It probably sounds like a cliché, but the key is balance."

The Pew study, based on a telephone survey of 4,001 adults, breaks Americans into 10 groups based on the number of gadgets they own, the frequency with which they use those gadgets and the attitude they have toward connectivity. Here's how the respondents were classified:

Omnivores 8%

Loaded with gadgets they use constantly. Express themselves with blogs and Web pages.

Connectors 7%

Use many devices for work and leisure but don't share their lives online.

Lackluster Veterans 8%

Use technology, largely for work, but don't love being always connected.

Productivity Enhancers 8%

Love how technology helps them do more at work and at home.

Mobile Centrics 10%

Constantly use cellphones but mostly steer clear of the Internet.

Connected But Hassled 10%

Own a lot of technology but feel overwhelmed by the information and connection.

Inexperienced Experimenters 8%

Like technology but feel too inexperienced to take much advantage of it.

Light But Satisfied 15%

Have and use some technology but don't think it matters much for them.

Indifferents 11%

Own technology but don't use it or like it much.

Off the Network 15%

Don't have or want cellphones or Internet.