¶ … technology has changed family life, according to authors Molitor and English-Lueck. Both authors believe technology has changed the family, and not always in the best ways. Technology has allowed families to remain in closer contact, with cell phones, e-mail, and computers, but it has blurred the lines between work and home life, and allows families to lead increasingly separate lives.

Author Molitor thinks technology has affected the family by changing the way they communicate. He writes, "Teens and fast-trackers everywhere wouldn't leave home these days without packing their mobile telecommunications device, whether it be telephone handset, personal communicator, or other gadget" (Monitor). Increasingly, families rely on these devices to "check-in" and manage their busy schedules, rather than coming together over something like a family dinner to communicate about the day. Often, families do not come together at all for days at a time, as English-Lueck notes. "They can now stay out longer and be more independent since they are 'in contact.' The only time they have been physically together in several weeks is for the anthropologist's visit to their home for an interview" (English-Lueck). In some cases, the authors found that technologies helped bring some families closer together, such in the Vietnamese family that enjoyed doing karaoke together, but in most cases, more technology just gave more reasons to remain fractured (working at a computer in a different room, kids doing homework in their rooms, etc.)

Personally, our family relies heavily on technology to keep in touch, communicate, and entertain ourselves, and I think that it results in the family not being as close. When I was little, we had family dinners together, and now that pretty much only happens during holidays or special occasions. We use a lot more technology, but our relationships have suffered as a result, it seems to me.

References

Molitor, Graham T.T. "Communication Technologies That Will Change Our Lives." USA Today (Society for the Advancement of Education), 2003.

English-Lueck, Dr. J.A. "Technology and Social Change: The Effects on Family and Community." COSSA Congressional Seminar, 1998.