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Introduction
Today’s society life is based in the order of technology. Arguably, 20th and 21st century has seen instantaneous and rapid technological advances. Currently, we have numerous means of communicating and entertaining. For example, there are computers, laptops, high-tech mobile phones, and with the introduction of technology, the world has been converted into a global village. Undoubtedly, technology has profoundly affected family life. In fact, technology has transformed all aspects of human live, this is because it encroaches in every phase of human life. Presence of technology has influenced the way individuals in family interact, work, communicate as well as spend leisure time. Impacts of technology have affected families positively and negatively. Nowadays, online video, social networks, as well as text messaging are affecting the social dynamics between the children and parentsi.
Body
In society, today people have different opinions on how technology has affected family life. Some believe that the presence of technology improves family interactions; on the other hand, others believe the only main goal of technology in our family is to rip it apart. The most obvious consequences of information technology in families is the shift of work load to the family by the parentsii. Since the invention, of laptops, computers, and internet, parents take their job activities home; this affects the family relationship. Parents will not have time for their children.
In most families, work and technology colonizes all the members of the family. Actually, parents do so in order to cultivate an interrupted time at home. Most of the claim that home is unsaturated working environment; therefore, they bring home activities that need a lot of concentration, such as reading, reflecting, and writingiii. This behavior caused by the presence of technology rips the family apart because such work will be done at the expense of the children and spouse.
In the past, when technology had minimal things to show, family members enjoyed their leisure time together using board games, cards, and other traditional ways of having fun; today, technology has separated members of the familyiv. Each member of the family does what is pleased with most, For example, one might be watching televisions, playing computer games, social networking, playing video games, or writing text messages to friends. This makes the physical presence of the members of the family irrelevant.
Technology has imprisoned many members of the family. The sedentary lives that families live nowadays, has led to obesity, and other heart problems. Computer, televisions, and mobile phones have lured people to stay indoors, and enjoy what technology presents for them. Parents work in front of the computer in the workplace all day long, after work they go directly to use the computers at home, either to continue with office work of to socialize onlinev. On the other hand, children after school jump to their laptops and phones to communicate with friends through face book, twitter, text messages, Skype, and other numerous social networks. This lifestyle does not allow members of the family to exercise for health purposes. Hence, technology has affected the lifestyle of families and healthvi.
Individuals are utterly obsessed with technology in families. This characters development as led to limited human interactions in either families, or society. Within the family, individuals have become a community of isolation, with minimal verbal communication skills. Members of the family have no time to learn communication and socialization skillsvii. For example, in families it reaches an extend in which members of the family communicate within the same room using social networks, instead of just communicating face to faceviii.
Additionally, children have no time of meeting their friends at the local park to play soccer. They spend all day locked up calling friends, sending text messages, playing soccer in a play station or watching video games. Good speech and perfect communication skills have been sacrificed to speed texting and shorthand lingoix. Family members are no longer enjoying togetherness; they have become strangers in their own home. Certainly, each one of them is in their own implicit world, establishing bogus relationship and interacting with strangers.
Technology, especially internet, offers a whopping content related to knowledge, and children have the ability to extract information from it. For example, some computer software’s are designed purposely for learning; hence, children in a family can utilize to develop creativity and learning skillsx.
Technology has rendered families a world of impatience. Behaviors that exist in video games, text messages, and social networks have being brought into the family. Parents and children are all habituated to instant enjoyment through information technology, anything less leads to intolerance and impatiencexi. Members of the family are expected to be brief, fast, and be instant in finding solutions; this is what takes place in techno-world. The lifestyle has rendered family interaction and conversations non-existent and inappropriate. In fact, the behaviors have been shifted to schools, teachers communicate with parents trough internet. The old day’s parent-teacher face-to-face interaction does not existxii.
Moral values, and other family values has been off-centered, and redesigned, due to an influx of phones, televisions and other social networks. Family members do not see the need to be physically together, yet you can be in touch through the new technologies. The issue of concern and care is an illusion caused by test messaging, chat, and phone calls.
Technological devoices have taken the responsibility of parents in families. Parents in the 21st century, do not have time to advise their children of the positive and negative behaviors. Children learn from the internet and strangers through social networksxiii. For example, children have access to nude and immoral pictures, movies, and texts online, having no one to direct and control children will be tempted to experience and learn what they see. Parents should not blame the expansion and development of technology, but rather blame themselves for not undertaking their responsibilities.
The news line concerning the tearing of families by technology is not perfectly true. It has improved the standard of living in families. Families should appreciate the presence of technology; it is the responsibility of parents to advise their children on what to access and what not toxiv. There are many positive ways, in which technology has helped in bonding family members. Positively, technology has done many excellent things, especially in the communication industry. In the past, it was difficult for family members to communicate and connectxv.
Technologies have broken social and geographical barriers to allow members of the family to access anything they want to experience. It has transformed the family life and will continue to do so. Technology within the family leads to calm and peace; currently parents enjoy a calm environment when their children are busy watching television, texting messages, or socializing with strangers through social networksxvi. Family, life can be very boring, this is because of the monotony of events. Technology is the main solution to this problem. Mobile phones, television, and play stations provide various forms of entertainment. It makes family life entertaining and interesting to live in.
Economically, families have benefited through the development of technology. For example, children can use internet to access their lectures. In fact, most institutions encourage the use of online learning. Perhaps, taking lectures online cut numerous expenses, such as transport, accommodation and general fees. Additionally, parents can communicate with institutions on the progress of the children, despite the negative social effects that this trend carries, it is economically convenient to embrace technologyxvii.
Conclusion
Message texting, video games, phones, and other forms of modern technology are exceptionally upstanding, especially when it is moderately used, and used for the intended purposes. In most cases, families may not be tremendously affected by negative effects of technology. The negative effects of technology on the family, can be eliminated by turning off television, cell phones, as well as computers regularly and create daily family time. Parents should take control of the family, and ensure that children access moral sites on the internet; it is all about upbringing of children. Technology has enabled families to understand the world at their doorstep.
Undeniably, all types of hi-tech inventions are objects that are inanimate; hence, they are incapable of influencing families on their own. Families, which decide to keep their modern technological aspects in perspective, will not be affected negatively by technology, but help them in making family live interesting and easy. Parents should be the ones to limit and invite technology into the family. For example, parents should manage the programs and sites that children visit online. Generally, the despite the fact that people condemn technology on ripping families apart, technology is one of the best thing that ever happened to families.
