Technology: One of The Family Members

Over the last few weeks, we have spent a good amount of time in class discussing family life and, as a class, came to the conclusion that marriage promotes stability in a child’s life. Early today, I was reading Noelle’s post “Technology: We’ve Made a Huge Mistake” (Thanks Noelle for bringing up such a thought-provoking topic.) and this prompted me to start thinking about the effect technology has on a family. Maybe we should be less concerned about the parents’ relationship with each other and more focused on what technology is doing to the home life.

To begin, there is the issue of communication between family members. I must admit that technology has allowed families to communicate much quicker, which can decrease worry and help in emergency situations.  It even keeps us closely connected to those whom we might not have been able to stay close to in the past. Cambridge University conducted a study and came up with the following information. 

"Families surveyed across all four countries universally agreed that new information and communication technology such as Facebook, Skype, instant messaging and email have improved relationships with extended family that don't live close by. Where the negative effect seems to take place is at home, with the immediate family."

Technology is a great way for families to stay connected, but with so much connecting being done over the internet, does that leave room for that ever so important face-to-face contact? With how we use technology today, we are always “plugged in”. Sure, we might be spending time with our parents and siblings, eating dinner as a family, but our phones and iPods normally tag along. Time and quality time essentially do not carry the same significance. Even our parents often bring home their work, answering business calls and responding to emails at all hours of the night. Could this be a major contributor of the work-life imbalance that we are facing today?

One of the most interesting articles ("Technology is Taking Over My Family") that I have read on this topic is one man's account of what technology has done to his family. I highly suggest reading it in full. It is a very candid view into his life at home and how technology has dominated all aspects of his family life. His daughter even texts him, while they are in the same house, to ask for a cup of tea. This type of distant communication between families brings up the issue of "silent fluency". Your family is meant to be the people who you are closest to. You are able to express a range of emotions with them, and with that, you learn how to pick up on non-verbal signs, body language, and facial expressions. The constant use of technology has led our generation, and those younger, to not be able to have suck skills. It's scary to think that if this disconnected communication happens in at home, what can we expect when these children are thrust into the workforce and must partake in face-to-face interaction?

Another cause of concern in regards to technology in the home could be the parent-child dynamic. Many of us would agree that our parents definitely do not know as much about technology as we do. Some of us can even remember the difficulty we faced when we had to teach our parents how to use their smartphones and tablets. The parent's lack of knowledge can often lead kids to feel superior, which results in a struggle of authority when a parent tries to take away or limit technologies like phones, computers, TVs, etc. 

When it comes to technology and the family, I think there are some positive aspects, but in the end I think it is detrimental to the "ideal" home life, in which when the parents and kids are all at home they interact and have meaningful conversations and interactions. What do you think about technology and family? Do you think technology has become a part of the modern family? Is that a good or bad thing?