What is computer science? That's the underlying question of our research on the perception of computer science among the general population as to what constitutes their concept of it. Two qualitative studies based on grounded theory [6] lead to the development of a model of different types of situations of contacts (SoC). SoC can be classified as perceived and non-perceived contact situations. If a situation is not consciously perceived, a person's concept of computer science remains unchanged. If a situation is consciously perceived, the concept may evolve. The results show that the perception of computer science can either be classified as a "tool" which facilitates an individual's professional and private workflow or as an "obstacle", which can arise either from the use of software or other digital tools, or externally through guidelines, technical progress or through purchases by third parties (e.g. children and their environment). The distinction between perceived and non-perceived situations of contact and between a tool and an obstacle relies on an individual complexity rating.