How Social Media Affects Family Relationships

How Social Media Affects Family Relationships

A family has at most times been seen as private territory. No matter what happened outside of it, for example at work or elsewhere, a family, in principle, is where many people can share their problems, seek for solutions together, enjoy understanding and privacy. However, as technologies have become more and more advanced, this private, intimate space has shrunk. Today, in the era of social media, relationships in many families have changed, since social media affects these relationships in a number of unexpected and sometimes negative ways.

Looking from an optimistic perspective, children and parents have gained a powerful tool of communication. Indeed, while communicating in person might be difficult for both teenagers and their parents during the so-called “teenage rioting” period, social networks provide a valuable opportunity for communication. However, there is another side of the coin. About 30% of people are now using all kinds of gadgets, including cell phones, tablets, and so on, to talk to their loved ones through social media services, instead of having a conversation with them in person. One person out of five admitted they learned what their family members were doing…………