Statistics indicate computer use is increasing in homes, schools, libraries, recreation centers, camps, and parks. However, the relative effects of computer use on children with ready access to computer-based technologies and on children who have only limited experience with such technologies is at question. The source of impact is the computer software that touches children's lives. Various authors have argued that children can reach the stage of formal operations within certain content areas while remaining in the stage of concrete operations in others. The use of "general-purpose" computers can give children power and control resulting from their mastery of command structures to direct the operation of the computer. The roles of patterning, sequencing, and conditional reasoning in the creation of programs; in the use of general purpose software; and in the acquisition of programming skills are important. Contrary to general-purpose computer software, "canned programs" direct children's attention toward specific goals, and the child's interaction with the program requires the use of some fixed set of responses to achieve those goals. Computers are currently being used to simulate activities and provide skill drills. Incidental effects of these programs will include higher levels of expectation of graphic, textual, or sound reward for good performance and, possibly, heightened awareness of computer capability. (BJD)