Networked Families

I read Chapter 6 - Networked Families in book "Networked - The New Social Operating System" by Lee Rainie and Barry Wellman.  It focused on the Triple Revolution - Social Network, Internet and Mobile, and how these have changed the concept of a networked family.

The use of these elements in modern families has allowed for families to network and stay connected while also allowing "individual discretion, abundant opportunities or communication, and flexibility in their togetherness."

It noted that North American families have changed substantially over recent generations.  They have gotten smaller (fewer couples having children), less stable (more single-parent households from divorce), and there have been a change in family roles as more women entered the workforce.  Additionally, more men and women are spending more time in leisure activities (sports, entertainment, volunteering, etc.).  Similarly, for families with children who also have their own sports schedules, the family lifestyle has sped up to meet everyone's requirements while staying in touch.   The evolution of television with massive choices between cable and streaming platforms, has resulted in "narrow-casting" of niche TV which offers more flexible viewing, and is tailored to personal interests and time constraints.

Although married couples with children tend to own the most mobile phones and computers, as a single working parent of two adult children, one who is also in college and lives at home, and the other who lives 3000 miles away,  I think we are a solid runner up.  I personally own two cell phones (work and personal), and two laptops (work and personal), while my son has a cell phone, two computers (college laptop and gaming computer).  Oh, and I forgot the iPad.   A total of 8 digital devices for two people in one household.  Add my daughter who works in film/television in L.A., and she has 2 laptops, an iPad and a cell phone, except when she is in the middle of a production, and then add another phone and laptop.   

Yet these devices are used in multiple ways, many simultaneously to network and stay connected.  I may message my son to grab some groceries on the way home while I am doing online training for work.  My daughter may FaceTime us while my son is on a flight simulator flying a jet as part of a 6-plane formation over the Mediterranean Sea.  And of course, they are used as calendars, GPS, research, games, email, messaging, etc. In short, they have made it easier for parents to become "digital parents" to stay connected with their partners and children.  And when kids have multiple sports activities or other engagements, it helps parents schedule between the children and each other.  Also, it allows parents to share key moments of their children with spouses in real time when they cannot be together, and then post on social media for all to see.

Teens especially like texting because it is asynchronous, and they can communicate and not have to wait around for a response, and go on to something else.   For teens, texting also provides a physical and emotional buffer for kids.   Alternately, 45 percent of parents say they have monitoring software to check up on what their kids do online.

Most importantly, the Triple Revolution has allowed families to communicate and stay connected, to manage everyone's schedules and events, and to be able to capture and share with each other and the world.