Sunday, November 7, 2010
Family in the digital age
More and more stories similar to the one presented in this video seem to be happening lately. For many years the only way families could be reunited is through the use of expensive private investigators. Now a simple search through Facebook and people who have not seen each other for years are being reunited. It is not just families that are being reunited but causal relationships being reconnected after years of silence.
These stories support the theory put forth by Stefana Boadbent about the intimacy and the internet. Before the widespread use of the internet many relationships suffered from long distances. We have all heard about doomed long distance relationships, now many relationships start from long distances. Social networks and genealogy sites help people connect to sides of families they never knew about.
One thing to ask is how family is affected by the digital age. With TV, video games, and computers there are many distractions that interfere with family life. The importance of family interaction has many hurdles in the digital age but family can also keep in touch with each other in locations that they couldn't before. As children leave the home social networks may provide more interaction with parents than the hour weekly call used to.
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I like this vidoe! It shows how social networks can be for the good. I love being able to use skype to talk to my cousin in Germany and my Friend in Italy. If it wasn't for skype I wouldn't have any contact with them because it's so expensive to call over there.
ReplyDeleteI know this is one of the biggest uses I have for social networks, keeping in touch with my family. Before this I would get an occasional call and eventually find out about things. I would either be the first to know or the last to know. With my sister in Iraq and my bother on his way, we can almost touch basis with them on a daily basis. This was not possible when my dad was called up for Desert Storm or the last time my brother was in Iraq.
ReplyDeleteSocial networks are great in that it allows me to keep in contact with friends and family all over the place. My busy work travel schedule allows them to keep up with me as well.
ReplyDeleteThere is a lot of extended family that I didn't speak with that often, but we are at least able to communicate with sites like Facebook.
Great video! I have a 21 year-old son who is attending Wuppertal University in Germany as an exchange student; we use Facebook and Skype to keep in touch. This is a great way to stay connected while we're miles apart, and the price is right! Not too many years ago these media wouldn't have been a possibility.
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