Changing Family Patterns - Technology Disconnected Families

In addition to the community disconnect brought about by mobility, Robert D. Putnam noted a disconnect among family members in his 2000 book Bowling Alone. Putnam attributed the problem to the availability of more individualized entertainment media. Three or four generations earlier the whole family, and sometimes the neighbors as well, gathered around the radio to hear about world events or laugh together at the antics of favorite comedians. They shared the moment and discussed it afterward. Each member of the twenty-first century family, however, could choose his/her own entertainment (TV, DVD, CD, or computer), go to separate rooms or put on headphones, and be entertained in isolation. Thus busy family members, who often grabbed something to eat on the run in their rush to get to work, school, and activities, spent less time interacting with each other during their at-home time.

A variety of organizations began to address the isolation of family members in the twenty-first-century lifestyle. Research by the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University consistently found that the more often children ate dinner with their families, the less likely they were to smoke, drink, or use illegal drugs. In 2001 the Center initiated Family Day (the

FIGURE 6.4

FIGURE 6.5

last Monday in September) as a national effort to promote parental engagement with their children through the simple act of regular family meals. Nick at Night and TV Land cable television networks joined the promotion with a series of public service announcements (PSAs) called "The Family Table—Share More Than Meals." These PSAs were described as "a pro-social initiative designed to celebrate all of our unique families, and to encourage loved ones to reconnect." Special programming on these networks featured classic TV episodes in which the show's central plot was revealed or resolved around the family dinner table.

TABLE 6.11

Percentage of children age 5–17 using home computers for specific activities, by child and family characteristics, 2001
	Home computer activity
	Total number of children in thousands	Word processing	Connect to the Internet	E-mail	Spreadsheets or databases1	Graphics and design1	Complete school assignments	Manage household records or finances1	Play games	Other
User characteristics		Percent	Percent	Percent	Percent	Percent	Percent	Percent	Percent	Percent
All persons age 5–17	53,013	32.4	45.6	34.4	—	—	44.2	—	59.2	2.8
Child characteristics
Age
5–7	11,990	9.4	22.6	9.5	—	—	13.8	—	54.0	1.2
8–10	12,455	23.8	39.5	23.9	—	—	37.7	—	58.8	1.5
11–14	16,493	42.1	54.1	43.3	—	—	56.6	—	62.9	2.6
15–17	12,075	50.9	62.9	57.7	17.1	23.6	64.2	2.9	59.6	5.7
Sex
Female	25,835	34.7	45.7	36.1	3.9	5.6	45.4	0.7	58.3	2.7
Male	27,178	30.3	45.5	32.7	3.9	5.2	43.1	0.6	60.0	2.8
Race/ethnicity2
White	33,433	39.3	55.2	42.7	4.7	6.4	52.1	0.8	70.2	3.3
Black	8,275	18.9	27.3	18.8	2.0	3.0	28.3	0.5	37.7	1.9
Hispanic	8,400	17.0	23.1	15.1	2.3	3.1	26.7	#	35.6	1.3
Asian	2,268	40.4	57.3	43.7	5.0	7.1	54.3	0.6	64.3	2.8
American Indian	637	20.7	31.7	20.8	2.1	2.3	32.0	0.5	51.7	1.9
Disability status
Disabled	626	23.5	29.8	21.1	3.0	5.1	34.4	#	54.4	2.1
Not disabled	45,416	33.0	45.9	35.0	3.8	5.5	45.0	0.5	59.8	2.8
Family & household characteristics
Parent educational attainment
Less than high sch. credential	5,450	11.1	14.5	10.4	1.5	1.9	18.3	#	22.8	1.0
High school credential	13,611	22.8	35.1	27.3	2.8	3.8	35.5	#	49.3	2.0
Some college	15,665	34.3	48.7	36.0	4.0	5.8	47.5	0.7	64.6	2.9
Bachelor's degree	6,712	42.8	60.8	45.2	5.3	7.2	55.5	0.9	72.9	3.1
Graduate education	9,114	52.2	67.6	52.1	6.2	8.3	62.5	0.9	81.7	4.7
Family/household type
Two parent household	37,230	36.6	51.6	38.8	4.4	5.8	49.6	0.7	66.6	2.9
Male householder	2,715	26.7	37.8	29.8	4.0	6.7	37.9	1.0	48.5	3.5
Female householder	12,440	21.9	29.7	22.4	2.6	3.7	30.3	#	40.1	2.1
Other arrangement	628	19.1	36.3	26.9	1.8	4.5	30.4	0.7	43.8	3.2
Household language
Spanish-only	2,549	12.0	14.5	10.7	1.3	2.2	19.1	#	23.5	1.0
Not Spanish-only	50,464	33.5	47.1	35.6	4.0	5.5	45.5	0.7	61.0	2.8
Poverty status
In poverty	9,277	12.5	17.2	12.1	1.6	1.9	20.1	#	28.7	1.5
Not in poverty	36,904	38.7	53.7	40.7	4.5	6.4	51.4	0.7	68.5	3.1
Family income
Under $20,000	8,344	13.1	16.8	11.8	1.7	2.1	20.0	#	28.3	1.7
$20,000–$34,999	8,852	21.0	30.8	22.7	2.1	3.2	31.4	#	46.3	1.9
$35,000–$49,999	7,438	32.1	47.7	34.9	3.6	5.0	46.7	0.6	65.6	2.2
$50,000–$74,999	9,530	40.0	56.9	42.6	4.6	6.8	55.2	0.7	73.8	3.2
$75,000 or more	12,018	52.2	69.3	54.0	6.5	8.8	63.7	1.1	79.8	4.3

— Not available. Data were not collected.
# Percentage less than 0.5.
1Questions about some computer activities were asked only about persons age 15 and older.
2White, Black, Asian, and American Indian respectively indicate White, non-Hispanic; Black, non-Hispanic; Asian or Pacific Islander, non-Hispanic; and American Indian, Aleut, or Eskimo, non-Hispanic.
SOURCE: Adapted from "Table 4. Percentage of Persons Age 5–17 Using Home Computers for Specific Activities, by Child and Family Household Characteristics, 2001," in Computer and Internet Use by Children in 2001, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Educational Statistics, October 2003, http://nces.ed.gov/pubs2004/2004014.pdf (accessed September 18, 2004)
Urbanicity
Metropolitan, city center	12,249	25.0	36.1	26.0	3.0	4.2	35.1	0.6	48.3	2.3
Metropolitan, outlying areas	23,566	36.5	50.8	38.5	4.4	5.7	49.2	0.7	64.4	2.9
Non-metropolitan	9,609	30.8	42.6	33.3	3.6	5.4	42.3	0.7	58.5	2.5