People are living in the Internet age where there is a lot of media saturation. In essence, there are a lot of digital creations from the televisions, radios, phones, the Internet, and other devices that facilitate social networking. Digital creations such as movies are no longer, for humorous purposes, but incorporate reality shows such as “Keeping up with the Kardashians” which portrays different family interactions. The digital culture through the Internet has rapidly spread the information. In today’s society, you will find television set. Children are exposed to them since infancy. According to Television and Family, television is used to babysit, educate, and give comfort to families (2016). Since the social media is part of the daily lives, what it displays about the family is also salient because it affects the way families are made today.
In today’s society mass media especially the televisions, for instance, is the learning platform of what families should look like, they show what an ideal family is and how partners and spouses should behave. The TV programs show ways to resolve family’s disagreements through reality shows and movies. The US family set-ups have dominated the international programs and influenced the overall family structures. There are various types of programming such as situation comedies, soap operas, and family dramas, whose main subject is to teach about family life. Throughout the years, the structure and definition of families has changed as well as the programs in the TVs. In the 1950s, the televisions used to present programs that could appeal to the whole family audiences such as domestic comedy. Programs taught about the different families of the white and black families and the conservative values of any ideal family. Examples of the programs were the Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet and Leave the Beaver. The article shows that these shows had a homemaker mothers working father and two wonderful sons. However, on it shows that today’s shows potray a wider picture. Today’s shows are more likely to present the reality of family life. For instance, a show like breaking bad reveals the conflicts within families. Over the years, TV programs have changed from displaying programs that are ideal and educating to create programs that are amusing and entertaining. For instance, the “Empire Drama TV Series” is an example of today’s modern family.
According to Lule, family set-ups have evolved to include single parenthood households, multigenerational and same-sex couples (2016). The basic model of a family comprised two adult partners, a woman and man, and their children. A household was part of society, and it was the primary cell of the community. Families came together as a group to perform various tasks to develop their communities. The internal structure of the family model was organized around the prescribed gender roles and age. The wife always undertook the internal tasks while the husband took the external duties focused on developing the family. These early families were functional and together they positively contributed to society development. Despite the emergence of the varying types of families and the perspective of the gender inequality between men and women, there is little effect on the family structures. Wives still conduct the internal affairs of the family while men predominately remain the breadwinners of those families. As much as most women go to school and develop careers, the rate of employment among married women keep on descending while that of men rising.
Modern Family Relationship In Comparison With Traditional Families
It is pertinent to note that almost 98% that the modern families have satisfactory relationships than the traditional forms (Matthews et al., 2013). This is because modern relationships are created by emotional bonds by the spouses and partners pay much attention to the personal attraction, love, and compatibility while selecting their mates, unlike the traditional marriages. The stable modern families are emotionally sufficient. The emotional connection has thus brought more intense bonds within nuclear families. The modern family is build based on romantic love, maternal love, and domesticity. The spouses marry because they are in love and not because the parents have arranged the marriage for a social gain. In essence, a man marries women they believe have maternal instincts and for the fact that family is the most binding institutions. The modern family is psychological; it focuses on ensuring individual satisfaction before society satisfaction (Matthews et al., 2013). However, the freedom to choose partners and ability to walk out of marriage over any selfish excuse has led to the breakdown of the basic family model. Many children have lost the parental love, support, and homes due to the increased number of divorces and separation.
Understanding Modern and Traditional Family Life
Many factors have led to the evolution of family models, which include industrialization, technology, and sciences. The family life model is more varied than in the ancient times because it promotes optimism and ideologies. Optimistic thinking within the household started as early as Renaissance period and had led to human progress. The progress is visible in the income surges, increased life expectancies, education opportunities for all genders, nutritional status improvement amongst other socio-economic development indicators. For instance, due to the development of medicine and medical covers families are able to visit hospitals when sick and thus, increased life expectancy. Women are allowed to attend antenatal clinics and give birth in the hospitals, thus, reducing child mortality. Modern families use different approaches while bringing up their children, thus, creating advanced cognitive behaviors in those children. For instance, parents other than immediate physical punishments to the children, they are more tolerant to slower obedience, which, in turn, creates better understanding between the children and their parents (Modern Family, 2016).
In conclusion, the chapter reveals that today’s family society is more about making choices. In essence, the general pattern found in mass media today is different from that of the 1950s, the so-called golden families. However, the modern families are satisfactory than the traditional forms but are not close to what the media portrays. The wives and husbands still hold the ascribed roles in their families, and that is why they succeed.
References
France, L. R. (2010). Retrieved April 14, 2016, from http://edition.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/09/01/families.on.tv/
Lule, J. (n.d.). Understanding Media and Culture: An Introduction to Mass Communication, v. 1.0. Retrieved April 14, 2016, from http://catalog.flatworldknowledge.com/bookhub/reader/3833?e=lulemedia_1.0-ch09_s02
Matthews-Juarez, P., Juarez, P. D., & Faulkner, R. T. (2013). Social Media and Military Families: A Perspective. Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment, 23(6), 769-776. doi:10.1080/10911359.2013.795073
Television and Family - The Social Uses And Influence Of Television On Families. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2016, from http://family.jrank.org/pages/1681/Television-Family-Social-Uses-Influence-Television-on-Families.html
“Modern Family” is a class-blind fantasy world. (n.d.). Retrieved April 14, 2016, from http://www.salon.com/2013/09/24/modern_family_is_a_class_blind_fantasy_world/
